This wasn't suppose to happen
by sweetpeaaa
Summary: Not being able to play basketball anymore, a young feisty teenage girl transfers to Seirin high in hopes to join the girl's basketball team, only to find out they don't have one. She comes up with a crazy idea to pose as a boy and play on the boys basketball team, but romantic feelings arise for one of her teammates causing problems. (OCxKAGAMI)
1. Prologue: Something Different

**A/N: Just a short story that I had came up with. I would like to thank Snow Ryder, RainbowShift, Lucky Kitsune 497, Angeltenshi, and xxXMythiaXxx for helping me out with ideas. If it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't have been able to put my story together. Thank you so much.**

**I hope you enjoy and give it a chance:3 Reviews would be appreciated too! I like to know people's opinions and thoughts to help strengthen my writing. Thank you!**

**Ps. The prologue is going to be short, so sorry! But I hope you enjoy and give it a try!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket or any of the characters other than my OC.**

* * *

**Prologue: Something different**

Her tired hazel eyes slowly opened as she heard a soft chiming sound coming from her phone. Her eyes beamed at the pastel colors that blinked from her phone; it glowed up the darkened room. She stared at the alarm going off for quite some time, until finally reaching for her phone on the counter beside her and pressed the button to stop it. A long sigh dragged from her lips as she lay back down in bed, staring at the ceiling.

_Another day… Another mundane day._ She thought as she rose out of bed, stretching and yawning before getting out of it; not even making her bed.

Mika did her usual routine: brush her teeth, wash her face, comb her luscious strawberry red hair, dressed up, ate breakfast with the family, and headed to school.

It was a long day at Kirisaki Daichi High. Nothing big happened. To be honest, nothing ever really happened here. Maybe except for that one time, about a month ago, when everyone found out the most popular girl at school family was broke. Well, she wasn't so popular after everyone found out. In fact, she ended up leaving the school after being tormented by 'her friends.' Geez, what people would do to you after finding out you are no longer rich here. The red haired teen scoffed and rolled her eyes as she reminisced about this.

At that moment, the final bell finally rung. This used to be Mika's favorite time, because she knew basketball practice was waiting for her… But not anymore. The girl's team was cut couple of months ago after having a shortage of players. The teacher ordered everyone to rise and bow before being excused. Mika took her sweet time gathering her books and bag, and then sluggishly made her way to her locker.

"Mika-chan!"

She glanced up from her locker and saw her best friend. "Oh, kurumi-chan."

Kurumi had beautiful pink eyes and light brown wavy hair. She smiled big and waved, "Are you excited for today?"

"Why would I be?" She answered in a monotone way.

"Well… You do have a game today after practice, right?"

The two of them started to walk down the hallway towards the exit of the building.

"Yeah, we do."

The hot sun shined down on the two as they entered out of the school.

"Well, tell the boys I said good luck! I'll see you later!" Kurumi cheerfully said as she ran off, waving. But she stopped and turned around teasing, "Say hi to Hanamiya-kun for me" and then winked before running off again.

The hazel eyed beauty wanted to bite back. She wanted to say that they were not dating, nor did she like him, but what was the point? The more she denied, the more Kurumi thought they were dating. Mika was only their manager. Nothing more. She gripped tightly onto her leather handbag, trying to conceal her anger, and sighed before making her way to the basketball gym.

She burst through the door and was immediately greeted by the team. She forced a smile, waved and greeted them too, pulling out a clipboard right after.

"Yo, manager."

She cringed hearing his voice. Without looking away from the clipboard, she replied, "Hi, Makoto-san."

He tsked, wrapping an arm around her. "How many times did I tell you to call me coach?" He teased as he moved his face a little closer to hers. He could feel her fruity scent tickling at his nose; Oh, how much he loved the smell of her.

Mika bit her bottom lip, gently shaking her shoulder to get his arm off her. The coach of the boy's basketball team quit not too long ago, making Makoto take the advantage of naming himself the coach. And ever since, they've been playing dirtier and dirtier.

* * *

It was just couple of minutes before their game, all the boys except Makoto left the locker room, leaving the two alone. He was just about to leave the room, until she called out to him. He slowly turned around and asked, "What is it?"

She took in a deep breath and gripped tightly onto her clipboard, hesitating if she should speak her mind. After a short period of silence, she mumbled in a stern tone, "Let's keep this game clean, for once. I don't want to see you guys injure another person."

His eyes widen and his jaw dropped. He was a little shocked; she never once really voiced her opinion about the way they played until now. But then, he broke into laughter.

Her almond shaped eyes squinted slightly as she glared at him. "I'm being serious!" She rose her voice with a little anger.

His laughter stopped when he could see she was. "And what are you going to do about it? What can you do about it? What… tell on us?" He then broke into an evil laughter again as he stepped out of the room and mumbled, "oh, you are too cute, Mika-chan."

He left her, shaking fiercely in rage. Her breathing had picked up as her face turned red; she hated how he was right. There really was nothing she could do… Makoto was too slick, too smooth. Even if she did tell, there wouldn't be any evidence to back her up. She felt… so helpless.

They won, no surprise there, but it wasn't fair whatsoever. She had nothing to say to the team so she left without congratulating them; there was nothing to congratulate anyways…

"Mika!" she could hear a voice calling after her and heavy footsteps storming behind her. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder to see Makoto.

She rolled her eyes, turning around to continue walking. From the corner of her eyes, she could see his figure right beside her. "What do you want?" She coldly asked.

"So… since I won, how about we celebrate? Let me take you out on a date."

Her chuckle got caught in her throat. Was he serious? No way in hell would she ever be with him. There were so many rude ways to reject him, and she wanted to say it all, but she simple said, "no."

"Aw, come on. We used to go on a ton of dates."He pleaded.

_God, don't bring that up…_ It was embarrassing, but she did go on a few dates with him. It was before she saw his true colors though. Oh, how much she would do to take those back. "No." she repeated.

He groaned, grabbed her by the wrist and threw her against the wall. She gasped as he placed his arms against the wall, trapping her. "Why have you been acting so different with me now?" He asked in an angered tone.

She quickly looked away from his hateful eyes and pressed harder against the wall, trying to put as much space between them. But there was no use, he was so close to the point where she could feel his hot steamy breath hitting her skin, and she could smell his nasty breath that made her want to purge right there. The tiny red head could feel her body starting to tremble in fear, and she started to shrink more and more, feeling helpless. But in the back of her mind, all she could think about was once again, another player injured, another player bruised up, and another team losing morale… How much longer was she going to take this? How much longer was she going to witness a team getting their hearts crushed? Destroyed? How much longer was she going to let this terrible and ruthless man bother her?

Her hand curled into a tight fist as she stood there feeling so helpless. She could feel this burning sensation in the pit of her stomach, emerging throughout her body. Her breathing became rapid, and her face just burned with anger. This was the final straw; she wasn't going to hold back how she felt any longer. With all her power, she slapped him in the face and pushed him away.

"I would never go out with you again! I quit the team you sad and pathetic human being!" She stormed off before he could even react. And as she ran, she never once looked back. Nothing was clearer than ever: She was never helpless at all; all she had to do was raise her voice. Mika finally knew what she wanted… She wanted things to change, she wanted things to be different, and whatever it was, she was going to find it.

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**Thank you for taking the time to read :3 **


	2. Chapter 1: A New Start

**Chapter one: A New Start**

Mika sat in a small rectangular room, waiting for her tour guide. As she waited, she stared out the window and gazed at how beautiful the sakura leaves fell off the branches, breezing through the air before crashing down on the cement. She assumed it was lunch time since there were many students sitting around outside with bento boxes in their laps. And as she glanced at the tainted door, she can make out many figures and hear heavy footsteps passing by. Their laughs and conversations were muffled, but she can tell how lively the school hallway was. Her lips curled into a soft smile; she couldn't wait to be a student here. Mika was so lost in her thought, until their laughter and conversations echoed off the walls of the small room, startling her. A short black haired student walked in.

"Hello, I am Sagawa Megumi! And I'll be showing you around school today. Your name is?"

The red head looked up at the girl, "Oh, I am Tachibana Mika." She stood up quickly to shake her hand.

Megumi couldn't help but stare at the beauty right in front of her. Mika had long deep red beautiful wavy locks that faded to a strawberry red with white blond tips. As the sun beamed down through the windows, Mika's hazel almond shaped eyes sparkled as she softly smiled. She had this small mole under the corner of her right eye that complimented her appearance. Her figure was tiny, but looking down at her exposed forearm as they shook hands, Megumi could tell she was quite toned; she even noticed how firm Mika's handshake was.

Megumi cleared her throat before signaling Mika to sit back down then sat across from her and slid a manila folder to her. "This has all the details about the school, clubs, and your registration papers that need to be filled within at least two days to start school next week."

Mika nodded before scanning through the papers.

"It's weird though…" Megumi started in a low tone.

The red head glanced at her, "huh? What is?" Her voice was naturally soothing, yet raspy.

"Why are you transferring here all of a sudden? We are already months into the last semester."

"Oh, yeah… Uhm, I just didn't like it at Kirisaki Daichi High that much. I guess, I just wanted a new start. Besides, Seirin High is closer to where I would be staying anyways." Mika answered before going back to look through the manila folder. Megumi was talking, but she zoned her out. To be honest, the only thing Mika was interested about was the clubs they offered at the school. She flipped through so many papers before finally finding it. Her eyes skimmed through to find what she was looking for, but her eyes enlarged when she didn't see it listed.

As Megumi continued to talk, Mika cut in asking, "There is no girls basketball?"

Her eyebrows rose with curiosity, "You play basketball?"And it all made sense why Mika's handshake was so firm. "Sadly, we do not have one. But you can always join a different club."

Mika sighed angrily as she rolled her eyes. She was hoping to finally get back on the court, but just like how it was at Kirisaki Daichi High, there was no luck for her.

Seeing how upset she was, Megumi tried cheering her up. "Well, we do have the boys basketball team. I think they are looking for a manager or something. I mean, you won't be able to play, but at least you'll still be around basketball. I would recommend you to consider it! Our team is amazing, especially since we have those two first years, Kagami Taiga and Kuroko Tetsuya."

Mika wasn't interested at all, until she heard his name. A gasp slipped through her lips as her eyes widen. "Did you say Kuroko Tetsuya?"

"Oh?" Megumi tilted her head slightly, "you know him?"

"Yeah, I went to school with him in Junior High… Is he doing okay?" She stuttered on her question; what she really wanted to know is if he found a new light.

Megumi sighed in a sad way, "I heard that he has an injury and is in the hospital, so he is out for the rest of the season… Isn't that sad?! I wonder how they'll do without him! Kagami and Kuroko were amazing together!"

_Bingo…_

Mika looked down at the table while Megumi continued to sigh and mumble to herself. Just at that moment, an idea popped into her mind. The cute red head rose to her feet, causing the wooden chair to scrape loudly against the wooden floor. It startled Megumi, and she was about to ask her what she was doing, but Mika beat her to it.

"Do you know which hospital Kuroko-kun is at?"

In a timid tone, not knowing why she was asking all of this, she answered, "It's not too far from here. Take a right, walk two blocks from here and then take a left."

As Megumi gave directions, Mika quickly gathered her papers, grabbed the manila folder, and bolted through the door saying thank you as she left. Running down the hallway, she could hear Megumi's soft voice calling after her, saying how they didn't complete the tour yet.

* * *

She raced to the hospital and lucky for her, it was visiting hours. Mika crept her way to his room, she leaned slightly over to glance inside the room; he was sitting up on his bed, staring out the window in silence. She couldn't help but smile… it's been awhile since she had last seen him; she was closest with Kuroko from Generation of Miracles. The red head beauty took in a deep breath before softly knocking on the door frame.

"Knock, knock."

He looked towards her direction, and his eyes widen in shock. "Mika-chan? What are you doing here?"

She stepped into the room and joked, "Well, is that a way to treat a guest? I took my time to come visit you," and then grabbed a stool, sitting beside him.

"Uh, gomen… You know what I mean though."

"I was just in town and heard you were injured." A lie, but hey, she is in town and she did hear that he was injured… _Nothing wrong with a little white lie._ She convinced herself, trying not to feel bad.

"How did you hear I was injured?" He didn't show any expression, and his voice was monotone as usual. But knowing him for quite some time, Mika knew he was curious.

"I went to, I mean, I go to Kirisaki Daichi High so I heard."

He chuckled softheartedly, "still managing for the boys basketball team, huh? Nothing changed about you."

Mika used to train with the Generation of Miracles in junior high.

"I use-AM." Mika cursed at herself in her thoughts while Kuroko eyebrow raised high with a question; he had a feeling she was up to something… as usual. But as always, he never bothered her about it; her mischievous ways always came back to bite her in the bum. To rid the awkward silence, she smiled changing the subject. "I actually didn't think you would continue with basketball after Teiko, Tetsuya-kun... Are you trying to prove yourself to the others? Don't tell me you found yourself another light?"

His eyes sadden and he sighed, "it's no use if I am injured… Hopefully, Seirin can pull it off without me."

She pouted, beginning to swing her stool around as she stretched. A moan rose from the back of her throat as she felt her spine crack in multiple places. She rose to her feet and walked towards the door, only turning back to comfort Kuroko with her last words. "I'm sure it will be fine. I'll visit sometimes later. Get better Tetsuya-kun." Mika then walked out of the room with a huge smirk on her face.

_Don't worry Tetsuya-kun… The team will pull it off without you._


	3. Chapter 2: Anything Just to Play

**Chapter two: Anything Just to Play**

Knowing Kuroko was on the team, she had a feeling the team was worthy enough to play on. The next morning, Mika decided to check out Seirin's basketball team. She stood behind the gym doors, poking out her head to watch their practice, examining each player. She could already tell who the regulars were just by watching them. In fact, she was a little intimated by their heights and started to think that maybe her idea was a bad idea. But the more she watched them, heard their shoes screech against the floor and the basketballs bouncing off the court, and the swoosh sound as baskets made nothing but net, she couldn't back down. She scanned the room, trying to find the coach. And to her surprise, it was just a short tiny girl, but the look on her face showed so much seriousness. Mika smiled big, showing teeth and mumbled, "This should be interesting."

She awkwardly walked into view and wobbled her way to the coach. The team stopped what they were doing to look at the stranger. Riko took noticed and blew her whistle yelling, "why are you guys stopping!?" She then felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around quickly. She gasped and jumped a little. Before her was a person with a huge burgundy jacket that touched the floor and wore a fedora that hid their face.

"W-what do you want?" Riko stuttered.

Mika cleared her throat and moved in closer, which startled Riko. She whispered, "Can I talk to you for a bit? I heard you were in need of a manager."

The short haired girl grunted as she felt chills running down her back. _This is a girl's voice… but why is she wearing such a weird outfit?_ "Uhh" was the only thing she could manage to say, until she forced out words, not wanting to be disrespectful. "Sure. Hold on." She turned around and yelled at the team, "STOP WHISPERING TO EACH OTHER AND GET BACK TO TRAINING. IN FACT, SINCE YOU GUYS STOPPED TRAINING, I WANT YOU ALL TO RUN LAPS AROUND THE GYM."

The team groaned and whined.

"IF YOU CONTINUE TO WHINE, I'LL MAKE YOU ALL DO MORE!"

With that being said, the team shut up and started their laps. Mika knew exactly then that their coach was scary as hell; convincing her was not going to be easy.

Riko led Mika to her office.

"Shut the door behind you." She ordered as she dug through her folders, looking for an application for the manager's position.

"Is it okay if I lock it?" Mika awkwardly asked

Riko eyebrows furrowed inwards, giving her a somewhat dirty look, "sure?" She was quite confused why this person wanted to lock the door.

Mika did so and then threw off her hat, her long locks gracefully falling out from the hat. She then unbuttoned her long jacket; she wore an oversized shirt with black leggings. Riko stood there stunned, not knowing what was her purpose.

"Uhm… You can fill out the application" Riko stated in a robotic way as she stared at the red head beauty.

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Sure…" Riko could feel something was weird about this girl. Something just wasn't right.

"Uhm… I don't really know how to say this…" She mumbled, fidgeting her feet.

Riko sighed, dropping down to her chair. "Just tell me. I don't have time for this. I have to train my team before their next game."

Mika's heart was beating so fast, it was pounding loudly in her ears. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly before she said, "Well, this is going to sound crazy… In fact, maybe really crazy, but I heard Kuroko is injured. And I know that I am a girl, but I want to join the basketball team."

"Wha?!" Riko exclaimed, almost jumping right out of her seat.

Mika's hazel eyes looked away from her gaze in embarrassment and mumbled, "gomen… It was a stupid idea! I shouldn't even have asked."

"No, duh!"

The girls sat there in silence. Riko didn't even know what to say, she couldn't believe a girl, for the first time, wanted to join the boys basketball team. This could possibly never happen. She then looked at the girl again, analyzing every part of her. Her eyes widen in shock; although she lacked height, her numbers weren't that low. In fact, if it was for girls basketball, her numbers would be above average; She was at the minimum for guys. Riko nibbled on her bottom lip before breaking the silence. "Take off your shirt."

Mika gasped and her face turned cold, "w-what?!"

"I said take off your shirt."

"But…" Mika's face turned bright red, and she had begun to cover her chest just thinking about her body being exposed to others.

Riko sighed and rolled her eyes. She pointed towards the door and threatened, "Would you rather have me do it out there?! In front of the boys?"

She groaned, shaking her head no. Slowly, she lifted her white shirt over her head. Riko was able to get her full data. Mika was nicely toned. The brown haired girl shrugged, "I have to admit, I am a little impressed… You could fit with the guys, at minimum, but that is just crazy. I can't possibly let a girl join in boys basketball."

The red head threw back on her shirt as Riko admitted this. Her eyes shut tightly. Just hearing rejection hurt her heart; when it came to basketball, she was fragile as ever. Her hands curled into tight fists; she was about to give up, storm out of the room and just leave, but she could hear the sounds of basketballs bouncing off the ground and the sound of shoes screeching from the court replaying in her ears. Watching them practice got her fired up. She wanted in and nothing was not going to make her back down from what she wanted the most. Mika angrily slammed her hands against the table and blurted her feelings. "I know it is crazy! Girls aren't allowed to play on the boys team, but Seirin doesn't have a girl's team! For the past two years, I have not been able to play. I haven't gotten the chance to really compete. I've managed and trained others, watched them, and longed to be the one on the court playing. I love basketball, and I miss it!" She then started to dig through her bag, pulling out videos, tossing them onto the table in a messy manner. "I even have these! You can watch how I play in practice games. I promise you I won't be a disappointment!" Her voice changed to a softer tone, wanting to convince Riko with her last will, "Please… let me play."

Riko gazed at her with an emotionless expression. She nibbled on the inside of her cheek and had her hand cupped under her chin in thought before speaking, "Why don't you just gather girls and make a girls basketball team then?"

Mika answered with no hesitation, "the season is almost over. There is no point in doing that right at the moment. Please… let me play, just until the season is over." The red head begged shining her puppy eyes at the brunette.

Riko looked into her deep hazel eyes. She can see the passion, devotion, and love she had for basketball. As much as Riko wanted to reject her, how could see turn her back on a person who has this much love for a sport?

The tough brunette wanted to confirm, so she asked nicely, "and you are willing to change your look just to play on the boys team?"

Mika quickly nodded, "yes! I am willing to do anything just to play!"

The brunette scoffed, hating herself for giving in, and sighed loudly before dragging her words, "Oh, alllright! Fine."

Her almond shaped eyes widen with excitement, and she had this huge smile on her face that could brighten anyone's day. "Really?! Are you serious! Sweet!"

Riko shut her eyes, sighing as she rubbed at her temples. She mumbled the word 'baka' repeatedly and then looked at her with a concerned expression. "Do you know how much trouble we can get into?"

Her eyes glanced towards the ceiling in thought before looking back at Riko with an answer. "Well, I actually haven't really thought about the consequences if we got caught. To be honest…" She paused, poking her lip with an index finger and murmured, "… I was too excited about basketball to even think about it."

She face palmed before checking the time on her watch. "Well, practice is almost over, but I don't want you waiting here for it to be over. How about you stop by my house afterwards so we can talk it over, yeah?"

Riko and Mika exchanged numbers before the red head waited for Riko's text message at a nearby fast food place. She was munching down on a burger, staring off into space until she heard a loud group of boys barging through the front doors. She noticed the red, white and black jackets they had on; some even had gym bags wrapped around their shoulder. She spat her drink out and sunk to her seat, hoping they had not seen her. The group of Seirin boys were in line ordering their food, talking and laughing loudly throughout the place. And honestly, seeing how great they got along, she couldn't wait to be a part of the team. She sat there day dreaming, until her little pink phone colorfully lit up as it vibrated. She glanced down, seeing a text message from Riko which told her it was okay for her to come over now. She smirked, stealthily snuck out of her seat, and walked out of the burger joint from the backdoor.

* * *

"Here." Riko tossed a rolled up brownish object towards Mika.

She swiftly caught it in one hand and looked at it, squishing the object gently in her small hands. "A wrap?"

"Well, yeah… You don't want the boys…" Riko glanced down at her nicely sized breasts before finishing her sentence, "… to see your chest, right?"

"Oh, yeah… That's right."

"Did you already submit your registration papers?"

Mika shook her head and then grabbed her purple backpack off the ground, sitting it in her lap. She unzipped it, pulling out her registration papers and handed it Riko. Her eyes skimmed through the paper and then glanced up from it to look at the red head.

"Saito Keiji? That's the name that you are going under? How are you even going to prove that with IDs and stuff?"

Confidently, Mika answered, "Don't worry! I come from a business family. My older brother has hook ups and worked it all out for me… After I begged him, of course."

Riko sighed, "as long as it all works out, but…"

Looking through the mirror before her, Mika could see Riko digging through one of her drawers; she pulled out a pair of silver scissors, and Mika could hear the blades slicing through the air as the brown haired girl held it high. She had an evil grin across her tiny face.

Mika's eyebrow cocked high with suspicion. "Uh… What are you doing?" She asked in such a naive way.

She rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? We are going to cut your hair," and then begun to step towards Mika with the scissors pointing at her.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Mika quickly turned around in her chair with her hands out. "We are not!"

"Yes, we are."

"Why can't I just wear a wig?!" Mika whined as she grabbed all of her hair in one hand, trying to protect her beautiful locks.

"You'll be sweating, running, and ramming into a bunch of guys. That thing will surely fall off! I am not risking it! We are cutting your hair."

Mika let out a high pitch whine in response.

Riko teased, "didn't you say you would do anything just to play?" Mika became instantly silent while Riko smirked as her eyebrows rose high.

Her words easily provoked her; she sat back against the chair and flipped her hair over the seat with a serious look on her face. She stared into Riko's eyes through the mirror and ordered, "do it."


	4. Chapter 3: One-on-one

**Chapter three: One-on-one**

Days passed and now it was time for her to make her first day appearance at school; more importantly, her first appearance at Seirin's boys basketball practice. Throughout the whole day, she couldn't get her mind off it. She didn't know whether if she was excited or nervous; there were too many emotions running through her.

But by the time she stood in front of the gym's door, she knew exactly what she felt-nervous. Her feet wouldn't budge, and she was completely frozen. Her almond shaped eyes practically turned into large circles as she stared at the closed doors before her. Her hand gripped tightly onto her duffle bag, and she could feel cold sweat beading from the side of her face. Mika gulped loudly, trying to force herself to move, but she just couldn't. She waited this long to finally play, but what was holding her back? Mika knew she could play, maybe she wasn't the best, but she knew she could manage to keep up. She's been around many boy basketball stars before, always managed and trained them. There was no reason to be this nervous. She huffed a large amount of air out of her lungs and begun to jump around, shaking off the nerves as she convinced herself she could do this.

Slowly, her tiny pale hands reached out towards the door handles; she grasped it tightly, feeling the cold metal beginning to warm up from her sweaty palms. She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly before mumbling, "I got this…" she then pushed the doors open: the sound of heavy footsteps running, basketballs swishing through the net, the coach yelling orders as she blew her whistle, and boys calling out to each other filled her ears. At that moment, her nervousness vanished; she was home. Mika confidently walked towards Riko, greeting her.

"Oh, you are finally here! But honestly, next time, be on time! Will ya?"

"Gomen… I was just…"

"Nervous?" Riko finished her sentence, and Mika nodded to confirm.

Riko gently rest a hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing. "Ah, don't be."

Mika sucked in her bottom lip and bit it as she rubbed the back of her now short hair. "Don't worry. I am not anymore."

"You can set your things down. I'll gather the boys. Don't be shy and make a good first impression, you hear?"

"Hai." Mika bowed and then began to set her things down by the benches. She then started to unzip her oversized sweater; Mika wore over a white oversized t-shirt, enough to hide her curves and chest. Along with blue basketball shorts that dangled down to her knees. She wore black tube socks, covering her hairless calves and a nice pair of all black gym shoes. She could hear Riko blowing her whistle loudly followed with a few claps.

"Gather around boys!"

As Mika tightened her shoelaces, she could hear heavy footsteps approaching around Riko.

"I have an announcement."

Mika turned around and saw all eyes on her. She didn't know if they were mean glares or if they were just confused onto who she was. She straighten her back and stretched her arms backwards, cracking parts of her spine before slipping on a white sweatband around her small, yet toned wrist.

"Alright, I want you guys to meet Saito Keiji. He'll be finishing this season with us." Riko gently embraced her with an open arm, bringing her in closer to the group, trying to make her feel more comfortable.

"Hi," Mika bowed, "I hope we can all get along." When she looked back at the team that surrounded her, most of their eyebrows were all raised high with question. She could even hear one of them whispering to another, 'can he even play?' She shot a dirty look at the tanned boy, who had a mouth of a cat. His eyes widen, and he straightened up, moving away from Mitobe.

A boy with glasses cleared his throat, shaking away the shocked look on his face. He held out a hand and said, "Hi, welcome to the team. I am Hyuga Junpei."

She quickly shook his hand, trying to give a strong shake. His hand almost devoured hers in his hard grip. "Thank you."

She could tell that all of them seemed to doubt her, but no one wanted to say a thing, until a huge guy with red hair stepped out in view, pushing aside his teammates. He had an angry expression on his face; his split eyebrows made him look even angrier than he really was.

"Coach! You said you were looking for a manager, not a new teammate. We don't need this weakling on our team! We have Kuroko!"

"Oi! Kagami-kun, stop it." Izuki demanded as he gently grabbed at Kagami's forearm.

But the hot headed red head pulled his arm away from him. "Tsk! We are not replacing Kuroko!"

Riko sighed, covering her eyes with her hand as she gripped tightly onto her temples. She was afraid that this was going to happen, especially with Kagami.

Kagami slowly walked closer to the tiny girl in a very intimidating way. Even though he was still pretty far from her, she could feel his shadow already covering her. The next thing she knew, the tall boy was standing right in front of her, staring down into her hazel eyes with his fierce orbs. At first, she was trembling; this first year was very tall compared to her, she was only five feet and three inches tall. As much as she wanted to look away from his angered eyes, she didn't. She held his gaze with a pout.

"What's so special about you? What is so great about you that you can take over Kuroko's spot?"

His voice was so calm, but deep down, she could feel the anger and coldness fuming from him. She gulped loudly, not knowing what to say. Hyuga was going to get in between them, but Riko held him back. He looked at her with concern, but she just shook her head. Riko took the time to watch her videos; she knew what Mika had under her sleeves. In fact, she knew Mika would not back down from Kagami. She thought, _maybe this is the way for her to prove herself to the boys what she is worthy of._

The girl with ombre hair started to tremble more as they stared on. He was waiting for an answer. Kagami easily towered over her, and the two kept their eyes lock onto each other. But the longer she stared into his eyes, Mika could feel a tingling feeling roaring in her stomach. It was hot and raging, it was boiling. This heat was just soaring through her veins; she hated when people looked down on her. Her trembling stopped as her anger grew bigger. Her eye twitched before she coldly replied in a raspy tone, "Want to find out?"

He let out a chuckle, amused of her pathetic challenge. He placed his hands on his hips and laughed at her face. His teammates gasped and tried to calm Kagami down, but the hot head completely ignored his teammates. "Why would I bother going one-on-one with someone as weak as you?"

Mika crossed her arms around her chest and smiled mischievously as she provoked, "Aw, are you afraid? Don't want to get beat by someone shorter than you, huh?"

Koganei whimpered behind Kagami, shaking his head and arms at her, signaling her not to test Kagami.

"Tsk! What'd you say? You really think you can beat me? Ha. That is really funny… You're asking for it! Get me a ball!" Kagami demanded. Riko quickly tossed a ball to him, and he made his way towards the center of the half court.

Mika groaned as she raised her arms up high, holding her hands together as she stretched to her left and right. She then gripped her hand around her shoulder as she rotated her right arm in a wide circle before meeting Kagami at the center.

"Uh…" Koganei started, "Coach, do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Don't worry."

Izuki and Hyuga glanced at one another; the two of them just knew something was up. Riko wouldn't just let a new comer join the team without a good reason. Either this new comer had an amazing ability just like the Generation of Miracles or amazing passes like Kuroko.

Kagami checked the ball for her, and she gripped the ball tightly in both of her hands. He didn't look too focused; in fact, it looked as if he wasn't going to even try. Kuroko's light was definitely doubting her. She smirked, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

_How can 'he' be so confident? There is no way 'he' is passing me._ Kagami thought as he started to crouch with his arms out, ready to block her.

Mika knew she had only one chance to do this, and it had to be now. "Ready?"

"Tsk. The real question is, are you ready?"

"Hmph." She half grinned, beginning to dribble the ball. She quickly dashed towards Kagami; he easily blocked her way, making it hard for her to pass him. But before his eyes, she started to dribble the ball between her legs as she crisscrossed them at the same time. Her dribbling, along with her fast pace moves, made it hard for him to keep an eye on the ball. She made a quick dash towards his right where he motioned towards easily. He smirked, thinking this was too easy. Right about to steal the ball from her, his eyes widen in shock as she did a turnabout towards his left, dribbled the ball between his wide spread legs and caught the ball as she passed him, making her way towards the basket. She jumped into the air so elegantly with the ball in one hand and tossed it against the backboard; the ball went into the basket.

Riko's eyes lit up with excitement, remembering her practice play in the video. _So that is the move they called, blind switch. I have to say, her fakes and technique are amazing. _

Kagami was frozen, and the look on his face was priceless. She smiled big as she retrieved the bouncing ball off the ground. Mika knew that she may not have height and power, but she used her shortness to her advantage; speed, agility, and her fakes were her thing on court. She glanced towards the boys and then made eye contact with Riko; the two shared a smile.

"Sugoi!" Couple of the first starters yelled. Koganei, Fukuda and Furihata ran towards Mika, greeting her.

"That was amazing! You got passed our ace. No way!" Koganei exclaimed, so amused of the new comer. The three of them began showering her with questions: how did you do that? Can you teach me the way you dribble? Can you teach me your flawless fakes?

Mika, embarrassed, blushed as she rubbed the back of her neck, chuckling awkwardly. "Oh, haha… It's nothing really. If he and I continued on our one-on-one, I would definitely lose! It was just because he belittled me that's all."

"Oh, don't be so modest!"

But it was the truth; she knew there was no way in beating this guy. The first years and Koganei continued to praise her and ask question while Izuki and Hyuga went to check on Kagami.

"Hoy, don't take it too personal." Hyuga said.

Kagami was ready to burst, and even though Hyuga tried to calm him down, it only made it worst. The gym went silent as he yelled, "This 'guy' is not replacing Kuroko!"

She flinched from the sound of his voice as it echoed off the walls of the gym. Everyone stared at him as Kagami stormed off, opening the door loudly and slamming it behind him. She took in a deep breath and exhaled as she bit her bottom lip. _Maybe this was a bad idea…_

"Hey…"

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she glanced to her left to see Izuki standing beside her now.

"… Don't worry about him. He's always like that. I'm sure he'll warm up to you. But for now, welcome to the team." He then gave her a light warm smile that cheered her up, only slightly.


	5. Chapter 4: He's Not Too Bad After All

**Chapter four: He's Not Too Bad After All**

It was a rough first day with the guys, but eventually… it got even tougher. Today's after school training was running. The team had run four miles nonstop around the track field, and they had three more to go. It was a really unexpectedly hot day today; Mika was literally drenched in her own sticky sweat, and she could feel herself lacking of breath (the wrap that was tightly around her chest was making it worse). The more she heard her heavy breathing, the more she wanted to stop. She couldn't believe she was struggling this much to keep up with the boys; in fact, she had started to fall behind.

She could hear Kagami's angry voice yelling, "HURRY UP BEFORE WE LEAVE YOUR ASS BEHIND, WEAKLING!" Kagami had been screaming rude comments to her all day.

She wanted to groan, maybe even whimper, but her fast pace breaths was the only thing coming out from her. She grabbed her t-shirt and wiped the sweat off her face before beginning to push herself harder.

While the boys were changing out of their sweaty clothes in the locker room, Mika was in the bathroom stall throwing up. If it wasn't for this training day, she wouldn't have realized how out of shape she really was. She took a long sip from her water bottle before she leaned against the bathroom stall wall. She rest her head against it and stared at the buzzing light on the ceiling, trying to catch her breath and calm down her fast paced beating heart.

She then heard a knock on the stall door. Her eyes glanced down at the floor and saw the coach's shoes.

"What are you doing in the guy's bathroom?" Mika asked in her original girl voice.

"What are YOU doing in the guy's bathroom?" Riko joked.

She laughed, opening the door. The red head waddled out of the stall and complained, "my legs feel like jello!"

"Yeah, I bet. Don't worry, I have something prepared for you in my office. All the boys left so you can hit the showers. Make sure you lock the bathroom door and come to my office right after."

Mika nodded and told her okay before she started to shower. And right after, she went straight to Riko's office. When she opened the door, the first thing she saw was a huge bucket filled with ice. Her eyebrow rose high as she poked her head into the room.

"Come in and shut the door behind you." Riko demanded without looking away from her paper work.

Mika stepped into the room and walked towards the bucket, poking at the ice. She then looked at the hard working coach and said, "Don't tell me I have to get in this…"

Riko tsked as she glanced up from her worksheet. "I'm guessing you've done this before?"

"Yeah, actually… I used to do this too to the boys back at Kirisaki Daichi High. I loved watching them squirm… I just never thought that I would be the one to suffer like them one day."

"Ha. Well, you are a part of the team. Besides, this will be good for you. Your legs will be hurting badly in the morning."

Mika sighed, slipping off her bagging sweat pants and stripped down to her boy shorts. She then grabbed the sides of the bucket, staring down at the ice. She could feel the chill tickling her skin, and it already sent goosebumps down her arms.

"Well, you don't have all day."

"I could always wait till the ice melts."

Riko's head shook at her comment, but continued on making plays for the next game.

_Well, here goes nothing…_ Mika then jumped into the bucket, howling as she felt the ice cubes wrapping around her body, perfectly making sure every space was covered. She shivered with her hands gripping tightly onto the edges of the bucket. Her teeth chattering loudly. She winced, trying to fight through the numbing pain taking over her body.

"Will you be quiet? I am trying to write plays."

Mika changed the subject quickly. In a shaking tone, "Can I get the keys to the gym room?"

Riko stopped writing, looked up from the paper, and met Mika's gaze. Her eyebrow rose as she asked, "Why do you need it?"

"I need to train twice as much as the boys do to catch up with them."

"Hmph," Riko smirked, going back to her paperwork. "Don't tell me Kagami's yelling bothered you all day."

"He was pretty rough on me, huh?" and then speaking through her teeth with a little anger, "Kinda got me fired up!"

Riko sighed, "There is a spare key in the flower pot beside the door. Make sure everything is cleaned up before we come. Also…" Riko dropped her pencil, rolled her chair out from under the desk, opened the bottom drawer, and sat a huge tube of vitamin supplements on the table. "… Take this home with you and make sure you take them daily." Riko then went back to making her plays, "Make sure you are prepared before the game. Don't disappoint me, Mika-chan."

* * *

Mika had only two and a half weeks to catch up with the boys. Ever since, she has been training in the gym before school started and training an hour before their after school training. Mika has been literally drained from training so hard: always sleeping in classes, during lunch, and when she got straight home. She devoted her life to basketball, almost forgetting to even keep up with school work.

Mika stared out the window as her teacher spoke; she was tapping her pencil against the wooden table until the final bell rung. She quickly grabbed her things and sprinted out the door, walking quickly to the gym's locker room. She changed into an oversized green shirt and white basketball shorts. Mika had her ipod mini strapped around her left upper arm, throwing in her ear buds. The red head girl started with easy warm ups: push ups, crunches, and jumping jacks. She then walked over to one side of the court, standing on the line and begun to sprint. She touched the line at half court, ran back to where she started and then sprinted all the way down to the other side of the court and touched the line before running back to where she started. She repeated this over and over, picking up the pace every time.

Kagami was too impatient to wait for practice to begin. He was walking towards the gym, spinning a basketball on his index finger. He then squat down by the flower pot, digging for the key, but the sound of gym shoes screeching off the court caught his attention.

_Someone's already in here?_ He stood up and looked through the little rectangular window on the gym door. His eyes widen when he saw her training in the gym already. He tsked but a subtle smirk appeared on his face as he watched her quickly run back and forth; Kagami had to admit, 'he' was pretty short, and 'he' lacked the ability to keep up with the rest of the team, but 'he' had a lot of determination. "Baka…" He mumbled before walking away, letting her do her own thing.

* * *

Finally, it was the weekend, and the team was free this time. Mika groaned as she awakened in bed from her nap. She stretched out her arms and legs as far as she could, until she grunted, beginning to curl back into a ball; her whole body ached from the extra training.

She sighed, "thank god for this break…" Mika stared at the ceiling of her apartment, until she rose out of bed quickly. Her eyes enlarged as she remembered something. She pushed her sheets off and leaped out of bed, throwing on a black sweater over her white t-shirt and grey harem pants. She slipped on her cheetah print slippers as she opened her door. Mika walked down the flight of stairs and then towards the front desk. She asked the land lord "has my packages come in today?"

He nodded, pointing besides him, never looking away from his newspaper. "They've been here all day, but I guess you were too busy to pick them up?"

"Oh… Haha." She chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, I've been busy…" _More like lying in bed all day, trying to rest my sore body_. There was a large package and two little ones sitting on top of it. She tried to lean over to pick up the boxes without groaning and made her way up the flight of stairs again. The strawberry red head breezed through the first couple of flights with ease, but as time progressed, she started to struggle making her way up the stairs. She was groaning, sliding the boxes up a step one at a time. She howled, coming to a stop and panted as she rubbed a hand on her lower back. Gathering her energy, she started to lift up the box and move it to the next step.

"Do you need help?"

She huffed, "sure… That would mean a lot to me!" But as she turned around to see who it was, she gasped, "Kagami?! What are you doing here?"

"Uhm… I live here. What are you doing here?"

She pointed to herself and stated, "I live here! Well, anyway… I don't need your help!" _No way am I going to get help from this kid!_ She pouted and then looked away from him, starting to go on with her business. She grunted, lifting up the box one more time, struggling.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. He gently pushed her aside and grabbed all the boxes.

She stuttered, "What do you think you are doing?! I said I didn't need your help."

"Well, you are in the freaking way. Just lead me to your apartment already."

She crossed her arms and pouted. _I guess I have no choice…_ She walked before him, leading Kagami to her room. He couldn't help but notice her fuzzy cheetah slippers. His eyebrow cocked high. "Nice slippers." He sarcastically brought up.

She gasped, freezing on the steps. Mika quickly spun around and pointed at him with her other hand curled into a fist and was against her hip. "Hey! These are awesome, okay?! I like cheetahs!" she admitted, and then continued to lead him to her room.

He groaned and under his breath, "whatever…"

"Alright, here we are."

He looked at her door and then gasped.

She saw the shock in his face and became curious. "What's wrong?"

"This is where you live?"

Her eyebrows furrowed inwards with confusion. "Well, yeah? I wouldn't randomly lead you to a different apartment."

"I KNOW THAT!" His voice rose with a little anger and then talked normally, "I live right there." He nodded his head towards his right. Turns out, they lived across from each other.

Her jaw dropped and her almond eyes shape turned into full moons. _Greaaaaaaaat…_

In a robotic, monotone voice, "well, then…" she flung her door open, inviting him inside. She pointed to the small dinner table and ordered, "just put them there." Her eyes glanced down at the floor and she realized she wasn't wearing her wrap. She squealed silently to herself, beginning to cover her chest with crossed arms.

"Your place looks really empty."

"Uhh… I-I-I…" She was slowly creepy towards the bathroom.

He took noticed and gave her a dirty look, "what are you doing?"

"I'll be like right back!" She stormed into the nearby bathroom and started to wrap her chest tightly.

He sighed in annoyance before mumbling, "jesus… What is even in the box? This shit was pretty heavy..." He started to rattle the box, slowly ripping off the tape to examine it.

Her eyes widen, hearing his words and what he was doing. She had just remembered putting pads and tampons on top in the box when she packed it. She stormed out of the bathroom, running over to him.

"Nooooooo!" She screamed in a high pitch girl voice as she leaped towards the box. Realizing she was breaking out of character, she cleared her throat, speaking back in a deeper tone, "I mean, nooooooo." Mika huffed as she fell on the ground with the box slightly crushed under her. She got back onto her feet, adjusting her clothing and the bent cardboard box.

Kagami stared in shock at her reaction. "Saito, what is your problem, geez?!"

She stuttered, not knowing what to say. "H-haven't you heard of not going through people's personal belongings?!"

He was about to make a comeback, until he heard her stomach growling really loud. She bit her bottom lip, hunched over, and wrapped her arms tightly around her abdomen.

" Uhm… Are you hungry?" He asked the obvious.

She slowly nodded and in a timid tone, "But you see… I haven't had the time to really add anything in my refrigerator, and I ran out of money to go out to eat…"

He groaned, rubbing at his temples. _Why is 'he' such a handful...? _It really wasn't Kagami's problem, but he couldn't just leave 'him' to starve. How could he go home and eat dinner knowing that? He then suggested, "want to have dinner at my house then?"

A gasp slipped from her lips; she couldn't believe Kagami, the person who had been rude to her ever since they met, was inviting her over to dinner. _Maybe the team was right. He wasn't that bad after all._

* * *

Kagami was washing the dishes while Mika went out onto the balcony. It was a beautiful warm night; she loved looking at the stars as they shined bright. It was peaceful even though she heard many cars and people below her. The sound of how lively the streets were made everything seem better. It made her feel like she wasn't alone. The atmosphere was different here than back at home. The corner of her pink lips curled up, turning into a sweet smile; everything was better here.

"Here."

She glanced over her shoulder, seeing Kagami holding out a light blue Popsicle stick. "Thanks." She said as she grabbed it from his hand. The two stood side by side, staring out at the open sky. They enjoyed the silence together, until he ended up breaking it.

"So… What school did you transfer from?"

She took a bite from her Popsicle stick and then answered, "Kirisaki Daichi High."

"Oh, really? Why'd you decide to move over here?"

"Well, actually… This was supposed to be where my brother was going to live. His business got transferred over here, but he is constantly traveling because of his job, so he told me I could use this place. I guess I just took the opportunity to transfer and start new… I hated Kirisaki Daichi."

"How come?"

"The basketball team."

"You played for them?"

"I was the ma-yeah… I did." She lied, and guilt was already taking over her.

"Tsk, you don't sound so happy about that."

She sighed, telling the truth, at least, "Let's just say… I didn't like the way they played."

"Hey, well, now you are playing with us, so it's alright!" He said enthusiastically as he smacked the back of his hand on her chest.

She grunted, _my boobs…_ and her Popsicle stick went flying out of her hand. "Aw, my Popsicle!"She whined as it dropped down to the busy street underneath them. She gripped the railing and leaned over, watching it fall, until it was too little to see.

"Geez! Don't go wasting my food." Kagami smacked her again.

She winced in pain, slightly covering her chest with her arm.

His eyes widen as he observed her in pain. He chuckled and lectured, "I'm not even hitting you that hard! Gosh, you are weak! Saito, you need to put on some more meat and muscles, man."

_Ha. Ha. Ha… Kagami-kun…_


	6. Chapter 5: One of the Boys

**A/N: Thank you to all the readers, likes, and favs! It means a lot to me. Shout out to: KagomeUchiha101, Sabiiinou Valdez DiAngelo, gOthiCkUrOcHo69, pudine, , and mikohoshina. **

**Sorry if this chapter is a little short and boring. But I wanted to do a short chapter on how Mika connects with the boys. :3 I'll be posting another one some time this week. Maybe even two more since I will be going to Cancun next week. **

**Thank you all and enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter five: One of the Boys**

Mika could hear nothing but her heavy breathing and fast pace heart beat; every other noise around her vanished as she ran. Her eyes focused as she saw the finish line before her; they were finally done with their last lap. And this time, she managed to keep up with the boys. All that extra training and horrible vitamins she took paid off. Her feet passed the finish line, and she slowly came to a stop, only to pace back and forth, trying to relax her body. Mika wiped away her sweat with her oversized grey jersey and gulped loudly before panting hard.

Riko blew her whistle followed along with a few claps and yelled, "alright, team! Let's head back to the gym, take a small break, and then practice shooting hoops. We have a practice game tomorrow!"

"Hai!" The team replied and then headed towards the school.

The guys gathered into the gym; all of them were doing their own thing in smaller groups: getting a drink, stretching, and sitting down or laying down on the bench, resting. Mika had a hand on her hip while the other scratched at her brow.

"Coach, I'll be back."

Her eyebrow rose with curiosity. "Where are you going?"

"Don't worry, I'll be back!" Mika yelled as she started to run off.

About ten minutes later, she came back into the gym holding grocery bags in each hand. All the boys were sitting on the benches as Riko lectured them about plays. The strawberry red head walked over and held the bags up. She smiled big and cheerfully said, "I brought us some drinks and snacks!"

"Wahhhh? Really?! I was actually pretty hungry!" Koganei admitted as he stood up, making his way towards Mika. He started to dig through the bag and grab out couple of drinks and snacks. He walked back towards the team, tossing Mitobe, Kawahara and Fukuda a drink and snack.

She then walked up to Riko, offering her the bag, but she shook her head no. So Mika went to the rest of the team, holding out the bag open for each of them as they all grabbed a drink and snack out; they all thanked her.

"Sugoi! These are so good! Can I have another one?" Kawahara asked.

She nodded and then tossed one to him. Koganei raised his hand, waving it to catch her attention. He smiled big, "Mitobe and I want another one too!"

"Okay!" She tossed them some more.

"Thanks, Saito-kun!"

As everyone rested, the first years were done resting and snacking, so they decided to start practicing shooting first. Mika munched down a power bar as she observed them.

"Woah… You have really smooth legs!" Furihata brought up, poking at her calf with his index finger.

She softly grunted and moved her leg away from him. "What are you doing?!" Her voice was slightly shaking. _I knew I should of worn tube socks today…_

"Oh… Sorry, I just never really see many guys have no hair on their legs before." He backed away, giving her some space.

She rose to her feet and said, "Well… Uh, I do! Both my parents aren't that hairy, okay? Nothing wrong with that!" She then started to run off towards the first years, wanting to escape the awkwardness between him and her. "I'm gonna shoot some hoops with the rest of the first years!" She called out to him and then raised her hand, greeting the first years on court, "Yo! Let me join."

"Sure thing." Kawahara tossed her a basketball from the bucket.

She started to dribble it in one spot; still observing the three of them shoot. Kawahara tried shooting one in, but it bounced off the rim, almost making it in. She noticed he had a slightly awkward way of shooting.

He groaned, "Damn it! Almost had it."

"Do your shots often end up like that?"

"Most of them." He answered before trying to shoot another one; it was the same result. He sighed a little frustrated. Tsuchida and Fukuda took turns shooting theirs, making nothing but net. He mumbled, "Man, why is it so easy for you guys?"

"Don't worry! You'll get the hang of it. I'm not that great at shooting myself." Mika tried to cheer him up. "I'll help you."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah! We are teammates. Why wouldn't I help?"

Kagami took a sip from his water bottle as he watched the newbie practice with the other first years. He couldn't really hear what she was saying to Kawahara, but he could tell the red head was directing and showing him how to hold the ball correctly. She then demonstrated her shooting, but didn't let go of the ball and handed the ball over to Kawahara; he held the ball in a shooting position. The tiny red head started to correct his hold, slightly bending his arm a little more and guided his arms, showing him how it should feel and look like when shooting. He nodded every time she said something. The next thing Kagami knew, Kawahara took a shot and made it in; the two of them cheered and high-fived. After helping him with his shots, Mika started to do her own thing: dribbling the ball between her feet as she crisscrossed them. The first years wanted to try too, and they all begun to try imitating her style. All of them laughing and getting along so well. Their practice caught Mitobe and Koganei's attention; both of them joining in the fun.

"'he gets along with the team well, huh?" Izuki broke the silence at the benches. "It's as if 'he' has been with us from the start."

Kagami glanced away from the team and looked at him. "Hm."

Hyuga pushed up his glasses from the center of it. And in a low tone, "let's just see how 'he' does on the first practice game though."

* * *

After practice, Kagami went straight to the basketball courts for a little while. About an hour after the sun had set, Kagami walked home. He shut the door, locked it, and then turned on the lights. He made his way to the kitchen, beginning to bring out ingredients to cook up his dinner, until the doorbell rung. He stood there for awhile, with his eyebrow cocked high, pondering who could it be. Kagami made his way towards the door and slowly cracked it open. A big brown paper bag was the first thing he saw, and he could smell something fuming from the bag. The scent was so familiar that he took in a bigger whiff of it; it was his favorite thing in the whole world, besides basketball—cheeseburgers.

Mika smiled big, waving the two bags of burgers in front of his face, as if she was teasing him. "Surpriseeeeee!"

"Uh…" He slowly opened the door all the way. "What is this?"

She shook the bag and stated, "Can't you tell by the smell? It is burgers. I got them for you."

He couldn't really understand why 'he' had done that. Why was 'he' being so nice to him? Kagami, stuck in his thoughts, hadn't realized he was being completely quiet the whole time.

She cleared her throat and softly asked, "Are you going to take them or…"

His eyes widen, and he slightly shook his head, snapping back to reality. "Yeah…" he answered as he reached out for the two bags and then said, "You didn't have to though."

She interlocked her hands together behind her back and smiled. "This is my way of thanking you for inviting me over to eat when I was starving. It's nothing big! Besides, it's what friends do for each other, right?"

He tsked at her response. _'He' definitely is a weird one…_ Kagami joked, "friends? Since when did I say we were friends?"

She gasped and her eyes widen as her lips turned into a small O shape. "Oh, uhhh…" She started, but her face expression softened once Kagami broke into laughter.

"I'm just messing with ya. You should have seen the look on your face!" He exclaimed, slapping her on the chest with the back of his hand.

She grunted as she grabbed at her chest and winced. _Not this again…_ She whined in her thoughts

"Oi, you really do need to put some meat on you, man." Kagami's tone was softer than usual. He then nodded his head, signaling her to come inside. "Hey, come join me? We have enough for the two of us."

She stepped inside while he shut the door with his shoulder.

"How'd you know I liked burgers? You aren't some stalker or anything, right?"

Her lips curled inwards into a straight line. What was she suppose to say? 'I saw you at the burger place, ordering about fifty cheeseburgers?' No way! She spun around, facing him and answered, "Ha. Ha. I asked Riko what was your favorite food so I could repay you for helping me out last time. That's all." Her voice becoming softer as she ended her sentence. Mika honestly did hate lying. But she had no other choice; to do the one thing she loved most, she had to lie. It was the only way.

He shrugged, honestly not really caring what the reason was, and walked towards the table. Kagami tossed the bags onto it, sat down, and started to dig in right away, eating burgers left and right. She took one bite, while he munched down three. Her eyes widen, and she really couldn't believe this boy's appetite was this big. When she first saw him order that many, she didn't believe he could finish it all, but boy was she wrong.

Time passed as they continued to eat and make small talk between each bite. Kagami had to admit, he liked the company; it often got lonely at home, and especially since Kuroko haven't been around lately.


	7. Chapter 6: Home on Court

**A/N: After the fifth chapter, I had been struggling to write the next chapter. But luckily, I ran into a song that inspired me to write! Thank you tennis court by Lorde! (too bad it wasn't named basketball court lol) But anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Like, fav, or a review would be nice ^.^**

**Shout out to the latest likes and follows: Elonwye7Link, Fox fire 3035, SelenaAthene (thank you for the sweet review3), Pikamuu.**

**and a huge shout out to MRocks! Thank you for all the lovely reviews and I am glad you are enjoying it. It made me happy and I laughed at your silly remarks hehe. To answer your question, IDK LOL I just needed a drive for her to join the boys team tbh -.- I am a noob. And NOOOO. Whatever that made your overexcitedness disappear I am sorry :c But thank you for sticking around.**

**I hope you all enjoy and stay with me until the end. Thank you all!**

* * *

**Chapter six: Home on Court**

It was finally the big day: Mika's first game in the longest time. She was unable to sleep the whole nightt, too anxious on the upcoming day. The team gathered into the locker room, they all changed except for her. She sat on the wooden bench hunched over with her elbows resting on her thighs. Her almond shaped orbs stared into space, thinking too hard how on the game will go.

"Saito!" she heard a loud stern voice filling her ears. Her head shook, snapping back into reality. She glanced up from the ground towards the sound of voice. It was Hyuga.

"Aren't you going to change?"

Her eyes widen as she noticed him without a shirt on. She couldn't help but look at his broad shoulders and toned physique. A silent gasp slipped through her parted lips as she looked away. "Uhh…" She started, "yeah…" she answered before rising from the bench. The tiny red head walked towards one of the lockers and opened it. She then unzipped her bag while Hyuga rambled on about the upcoming game.

"Nervous or something? You seem a little off today." Izuka asked, changing besides her.

"Ah… I don't know. It's more of a mixed emotion." Mika replied as she started to unbutton her oversized flannel. Underneath, she was already wearing her jersey; it had the number fourteen on the back. Mika then took off her black pants; again, she was already wearing her basketball shorts.

Hyuga tsked and joked, "Already prepared to go, huh?!" and then muttered 'geez' before slamming his locker shut.

She chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head as her cheeks blushed lightly from embarrassment. _Well, I don't want to be changing in front of you guys…_ She thought, but said, "Yeah. I guess, I just can't really wait to get out there," instead.

"Alrightttt!" Kagami exclaimed smacking her on the chest. And as usual, Mika grunted as she grasped her breasts, rubbing gently. "You may have passed me one-on-one, but let's see how you are on court, eh?"

Riko gathered the team in a small tight circle. "Alright, it's just a practice game, but it is the first game with our new comer. Let's see how everyone does and use this time to bond. Alright? Give it your best!"

Everyone then cheered, "Seirin! Fight!" before breaking apart. Mika was starting with the regulars today to see how she would do. To be honest, she was nervous at this point. It's been so long since she last played. Not to mention, she knew she had to do her best because Riko was keeping an eye on her. Her heart started to pump fast at the thought. There was so much pressure on her—not only from Riko, but from the team, especially Kagami.

It was finally happening, she was on the court. There may not be a whole audience, but it felt like all eyes were on her. The closer she got to the center, the harder it got for her to breathe. It felt as if she was going to drop dead right there. She closed her eyes for a split second, ignoring the referee speaking at the two starters and concentrated on her breathing, trying to calm down the nerves. But her eyes open widely when she heard the whistle blow. Her eyes followed the dark orange ball as it was thrown into the air. Kagami and the opponent jumped high into the air, trying to touch the ball first; Kagami easily over powered him. The next thing she knew, the ball was coming straight to her. She gasped and, luckily, her arms moved on their own, catching the speedy ball.

She may have caught the ball, but her feet were stuck as if it were glued. Was it shock? Was it nervousness? Was it because she was playing against guys? It just felt so surreal.

"Saito!" A voice called out to her that knocked her back into the game. In front of her, a boy was already guarding her. She gulped loudly as she looked towards the voice calling her- it was Kagami. He had a serious look on him. His eyes were like daggers, telling her she better get a move on before he kills her right there in the middle of the game. But for some reason, his voice calmed her down and her feet begun to move as she dribbled the ball. Oh, how great it felt for her to play. She could feel the blood pumping through her veins. She could feel the energy gushing throughout her body as she passed the boy and glided across the court, dribbling and doing turnarounds. A smirk grew across her face as she realized it wasn't nervousness she felt. It was adrenaline rush; something she had not felt in so long. Mika was like a one man army, almost forgetting she had teammates there to support her. She elegantly jumped into the air with the ball in one hand and threw it against the backboard, making the first basket.

* * *

The game went in their favor—120 to 92. She was happy about their first win together, but that happiness disappeared shortly when the boys decided to celebrate their first victory going to a hot spring. She whined and whimpered as her face turned the darkest red possible. Mika bit hard on her bottom lip, fidgeted her feet, and stared at the ceiling as the boys all stripped down naked. Dangling organs, abs, and butts. Everywhere.

_Is this really happening right now?! I can't look. I can't look. I can't look._ She repeated in her mind over and over. For any girl, this is probably a dream come true, and in fact, it was, but these boys were her teammates! It just felt so wrong for her to look. As she stared at the ceiling, Mika could hear the boys starting to run towards the hot spring, hearing splashes as they jumped in.

"Saito! Are you going to get out of your clothes or what?!" Hyuga asked standing right before her. His arms were curled into fists against his hips. His back was straightened out as much as possible while his part dangled freely with no embarrassment. Her whimpers grew a little louder as she shut her eyes tightly. What was she suppose to say? The tiny red head chocked on words.

"Saito! I need Saito!"

Mika sighed in relief, hearing Riko's voice come in range as the door slid open a little. Without turning to face Hyuga, she got up from the bench, grabbed her things and said, "Oops! Looks like I got to run! Maybe later, senpai!"

Mika rushed towards the door and slammed it shut before leaning against it. She closed her eyes and sighed, relaxing her face. But it quickly wrinkled into an anger expression and her eyes darted at the coach. "What the hell took you so long?!" and then whispered, still angrily, "I just sat there and saw their thing dangling for a good ten minutes!"

Riko covered her mouth and giggled softly. "Eh… Gomen. Gomen. To be honest, it slipped my mind. I forgot that you were a girl."

Well, that didn't really make Mika feel any better. Her eyebrow rose high and questioned, "What is that suppose to mean?!"

Riko's dark brown orbs widen as her mouth formed an O shape. "I didn't mean it in a bad way! It's just… You really fit in with the guys. That's all."

The fierce red head sighed, beginning to stomp off. "I'm just going to head out then."

"What? You're not going to enjoy the hot baths? You can just take it with me."

"Nah, the boys might end peeking or something. Don't want to risk it. I'll just take a shower at home. I'll see you later coach."

"Oh, alright!"

Back at the hot spring, Kagami rested leaning against the wall, soaking his soar body. His eyes were shut, trying to relax and zone out the loud conversations. He opened one of his eye and glanced towards the little locker area and then at the boys.

_Where's saito? _

Kagami sighed, rising out of his comfortable spot and stepped out of the hot spring.

"Where are you going?" Koganei asked.

"I think I am done for tonight. I'll just see you guys at school later."

Kagami changed back into his clothes with a small white towel hanging from his neck, catching the drips of water from his hair. He stepped into the hallway and ran into Riko, who was about to punch a button on the soda machine.

"Oi, coach! Where did Saito go?"

"Oh, you're looking for 'him'? 'He' said 'he' was going to head out. Why?" Her high brow rose with curiosity.

He had a straight face and murmured, "nothing…" before walking off. Kagami exited the building and headed home, spinning a ball under his index finger when he heard a basketball bouncing off the ground. He glanced towards the basketball court, seeing the tiny red head practicing on her own. He made his way towards her and observed from a distance. Her eyes were closed, as if she was imagining someone blocking her as she dribbled. Mika worked her fast paced dribbling and flawless fakes; to Kagami, it looked as if the fierce red head was dancing on the court. Her moves just flowed with ease and looked so elegant.

She came to a stop and greeted him, "What are you doing there, Kagami?"

He totally ignores her question. "I have to admit… You did pretty good out there. A little rusty but good enough."

"Hmph" She smirked, tossing the ball towards the basket and making nothing but net. "Thanks. I guess… You did pretty good too."

He tsked and confidently said, "I always do!"

"Ha." She sarcastically said before attempting to make another basket; this time missing. She scrunched her face when the ball bounced off the rim, the old rusty stand rattling from contact. She caught the ball and turned towards Kagami, "Want to play one-on-one?"

He smirked, dropping his bag on the ground and taking off his sweater before joining her at the center. He checked her, and like before, the two were at it. She dribbled the ball, never looking away from his eager eyes that craved to steal the ball from her. She started to make her move toward him, quickly moving right. He moved towards her left, knowing she was going to make a fake. But Mika made another fake, going right. And instead of dribbling the ball between his feet like she did the first time, she switched the ball behind her back from her left to her right hand, passing him with ease and making a basket.

A gasped slipped from his parted lips as he watched the ball go in. He thought that he had her, but he didn't even get a chance to budge from his position; she was way too fast and was a step ahead of him. They continued to play a little longer. Slowly, Kagami got used to her technique and managed to take the win with ease. But every time, Kagami couldn't help but be fascinated with her technique and style. She was always switching it up and adapting to changes without any trouble.

She swished the ball in and the two of them went silent, until he cleared his throat. "Yo…"

Mika reached down to pick the ball up. "What's up?"

Silence.

She turned towards him and was a little shocked. Kagami had this face expression that seemed shy, maybe even embarrassed? Whatever it was, it was freaking her out. She hadn't known Kagami for too long, but she knew the only face expression he ever had on him was that overly confident expression that had baka written all over it.

"What?" She asked again.

"Uh…" He scratched at his head. And under the dim street light, it looked as if his cheeks were blushing a bit.

Her eyebrow cocked high as she dribbled the ball. A sigh slipped from her pink lips, "just come out with it already…"

He cleared his throat again, trying to gather courage (more like fighting against his pride). "Can you teach me that?"

Her jaw dropped and in a timid tone, "teach you what?"

He groaned, not wanting to have to repeat himself; it hurt his pride a little. "Your fakes." A grin formed on her face and he groaned from her expression, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "Hey! Don't get so ahead of yourself!" He lectured.

She had to admit, it made her feel happy inside knowing the ace of Seirin was asking for a training lesson. Mika giggled, "gomen, gomen!" She wanted to tease him. Oh, boy, she wanted to tease him so badly, but there was no point in upsetting him even more than he already was. It was flattering that he wanted her to teach him something.

She cracked her neck and walked towards the center, standing on the line. He didn't move one bit, and she pouted. "Well, are you getting over here or not? I can't teach you if you're going to stand there like statue."

He yelled, "I am coming! Okay, jeez!"

God, it was so easy to push his buttons. Matter of fact, she enjoyed teasing him. She started to dribble and slowly showed him how she faked, explaining each step one by one.

"So the trick is to switch when they are too busy looking at the other direction?" He asked.

She nodded to confirm. "But you have to be quick, and it most likely will only work once or twice since they'll get used to it and figure it. When their eyes are too busy following your movement and their body starts shifting towards that direction that is when you dash towards the open side. " She then tossed him the ball and ordered him to stand on the line while she did the block.

He tried it out, but it didn't work. He groaned, "Why didn't it work then?!"

Her eyes rolled, "because I knew you were going to do that, duh! It is my move, and I was expecting you to do that."

He stuttered in a low tone, "I-I knew that! Jeez."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

"Well, at least I will know how to beat you now!" He bit back.

She scoffed in a jokingly manner, dribbling the ball fancily between her feet, "was that your plan the whoooooole time?"

He chuckled, "maybe."


	8. Chapter 7: A Little Too Late

**A/N: Thank you for the nice review! I love reading what you guys have to say, and I appreciate it! As I promised, I am posting two chapters this week! I won't be here next week because I will be on vacation. Enjoy! And wait for me to come back! Be patient!**

**xoxo sweetpeaaa**

**Shoutout to: Pikamuu, tsuri182718, and kitkat extremist !**

* * *

**Chapter 7: A Little Too Late**

It was a lovely Saturday night. Mika had just came back from the gym. She had a bag of cheeseburgers in her hand as she walked up the steps to her apartment. She came to a stop at her door and glanced at Kagami's apartment; there was light shining through the bottom of the door. She walked toward his apartment, pulled out a paper and pen, and started to write something down. Mika then sat the cheese burger nicely on the ground with the paper sitting on top of it. The red head rose to her feet, knocked twice on the wooden door, and made her way to her apartment.

Kagami was watching television when he had heard knocking on the door. He glanced over his shoulder with his eyebrows raised and sighed before mumbling to himself, "what does he want now?" He groaned, coming to a stand and walked towards the door, opening it.

"Huh?" His eyebrow rose high when no one was there. In the mid of closing the door, a tasty smell hit his nose, and his eyes followed the smell. There was a cheeseburger on his front door step with a sticky note. Kagami picked it up and pulled off the sticky note; reading out loud, "For you, Kagami-kun. Seirin! Fight!" and a horrible drawing of a stick figure Kagami.

"Geez, he sucks at drawing…" he muttered as he looked at her apartment door before looking back down at the burger in his tan large hand. He slightly grasped it tighter and said, "Does he really think one burger is going to fill me up? Could have at least given me twenty, moron."

* * *

_Rise and shine!_

Mika woke up early in the morning for a training session with the team; their Sunday morning run every week. She got ready, ate breakfast, and threw on some clothes: a nice heavy sweater, a pair of basketball shorts, and running shoes. Mika grabbed a water bottle off the table and threw her bag over her shoulder, opening the front door. Kagami had just opened his too. They made direct eye contact, until she broke their gaze.

She itched her head with an index finger. "Morning, Kagami-kun."

"Uh… Yeah, you too." He replied while shutting the door behind him, she followed his lead doing the same thing with hers. "Saito," he started.

She turned around to face him. "What is it?"

"Thanks for the burger last night, but you could have given me more, you know."

"Whaaa?!" Her beautiful hazel eyes widen. "This is what I get for being nice?!"

"It was a joke."

She pouted, looking away from him, "not a funny one though." Mika could hear his footsteps approaching, so she looked towards his direction. He patted her shoulder, but for her, it felt like heavy slaps. She softly groaned and slightly winced from his embrace.

"Don't be such a kill joy." He then started to walk down the steps, stopping after walking down a few. Kagami looked over his shoulders and said, "Let's go. You better keep up with me today."

And for some reason, when he said those words in that low tone of his… Her heart slightly jumped, and she could feel her face heating up. Mika bit her bottom lip and rest a curled up hand over her heart. _Is it getting hot in here or is it just me… And why am I feeling this way…? _She thought as she watched him step down the stairs, observing how broad his shoulders were and how his beautiful dark red hair slightly bounced as he stepped down each step. Mika shook her head once she realized herself staring at him for too long before following him and muttered, "geez, what is wrong with me…"

"Huh? You said something?" He glanced over his shoulder.

And she quickly looked away from his eyes and stuttered, "No, nothing. Nothing!"

* * *

The little fierce red head focused only on her breathing and loud beating heart as she ran, until a deep voice broke through her concentration. "Damn, today is hot!" Kagami exclaimed as he started to take off his shirt, swinging it over his shoulder as he continued to run.

At that moment, she wished she had never glanced over. Her eyes went straight to his nicely, broad, toned shoulders. Oh, how lovely his trapezius muscles showed and the way his collarbone complimented his pectorals. His arms looked so strong, and she fantasized how it would feel to be wrapped in them. She watched as drips of sweat slid down the curves of his abs. Her lips parted in awe, and her pale cheeks becoming hot as it turned to a rosy color. She just couldn't get her eyes off him, all she wanted was to stare at him all day.

"Woah!" Mika yelped as she felt the tip of her shoe smash into a ledge. She held her hands out to break the fall, and instantly felt pain pulsing from her knees and palms. She mumbled 'ow' over and over as she sat on her bum, examining her bleeding palms and knees. Mika could hear the team calling out to her as their footsteps came stumbling towards her.

"Are you okay?" Hyuga asked as he squatted beside her, looking down at her wounded hands.

"Oi! Oi! You idiot! Watch where you are going?! Who the hell even trips over a small little ledge like that?" Kagami lectured and then held out a helping hand. "Get up."

Mika reached for his, and he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her up on her feet. "Gomen. Gomen. I'll be more careful. Let's go." She said timidly, beginning to run again, but Riko stopped her.

"No, you are going back to the gym. Your wounds can get infected, and you are bleeding everywhere. Go get cleaned up and just wait for us to get back."

"I can still run." The red head protested.

But Riko shook her head as she pouted, "Are you going to argue with the coach, Saito-kun?!"

Damn, Riko's tone of voice always sent chills down her spine; she was frightening for such a tiny girl.

"Kagami, you can take 'him' back." Riko demanded and then turned towards the rest of the team, "what are you guys doing? Hurry up and get a move on!"

The team stiffened as she raised her voice. "H-hai!" they answered before beginning to run off.

Kagami tsked, a little disappointed that his run was cut short, and watched the team disappear in the distance. The short tempered boy then walked towards her, casting a shadow to form over her. "Can you still walk?"

Mika gazed into his eyes. Never had his voice ever sounded so concerned before; it made her heart beat faster than usual. Again, she could feel her face heating up, and she glanced at the ground; her lips curling into a soft smile. "Yeah, I can."

Riko's eyebrow cocked high with a question as she folded her arms, turning around and got back on her moped to catch up with the team.

"Good, because I don't want to carry you or anything. You might get blood on me." He coldly replied, beginning to walk ahead of her.

Mika could feel her eyebrow twitching slightly from his response. _I was dumb to think he cared. Wait... Why do I even care if he does or not...?_

* * *

She was carefully disinfecting her wounds and applying bandages on it as Kagami rose to his feet. Her eyes followed him as she stopped what she was doing. Her lips parted, ready to ask where he was going, but he answered before she could ask. "I'll go buy us some drinks. Be right back."

"Oh, hm." She nodded her head and continued cleaning her wounds.

He shortly came back, handing her a nice cold bottle of aloe vera water. "Arigato…" She softly said as she twisted off the cap, taking a sip. He groaned as he came to a sit, drinking from his bottle.

They were silent for awhile, until Kagami smacked her on the chest. As usual, she grunted in pain. "What was that for?!"

"Because you are a clumsy idiot…" He mumbled before taking a long sip of his water.

She stuttered, "Well… Well, you know what?!"

He glanced at her as he continued gulping down his drink.

"At least, I am not a baka who knows two different languages and failed both classes!"

Kagami spat his drink out before turning to face her with an anger, yet embarrassed expression. "How did you know that!? Don't make fun of me!"

"You always make fun of me though!" She bit back and then calmly answered, "Koganei-kun told me."

He was fuming with anger as he groaned to himself. "Why you… I am going to kill him when he gets here!"

She rolled her eyes, bringing her drink closer to her mouth and murmured, "you're such a hot head…" and then took a sip.

The team rushed back into the gym, dragging along buckets of basketballs in.

"Yo! Feeling better, Saito-kun?" Koganei cheerfully greeted.

"Hm!" She nodded happily, but her expression turned gloomy as she heard Kagami still groaning with anger. She glared at him as he rose to his feet.

Koganei shrinking as the hot head came closer. "WHY DID YOU TELL SAITO ABOUT THAT TIME I FAILED ALL MY CLASSES?!" He was gripping onto his shirt while Koganei winced and whimpered.

"Kagami-kunnnnn…" Mika whined.

"KAGAMI-KUN!" Riko angrily called his name, smacking him in the back of his head, stopping him from bothering Koganei.

He grasped the back of his throbbing skull, turning to face the tiny coach.

She pointed towards the court with her other hand on her hip, "Go and practice already, bakagami!"

His face wrinkled as he grew with anger storming off while Koganei and Mika covered their mouths, hiding their giggles.

"You too, koganei!" Riko demanded.

He stopped giggling and quickly turned serious. He stiffened like a stick and saluted her as if he was a soldier. "Hai! Coach!"

Mika finished the last of her drink and came to a stand, getting ready to shoot hoops with the boys.

"Not you."

"Huh?" The red head glanced behind her with enlarged eyes. "W-what?" She stuttered, not knowing what to say; Riko's expression looked a little… too serious from her usual look.

She turned her back and motioned Mika to follow her. They made it towards Riko's office and shut the door behind them. The silence between them made the hazel eyed beauty shake with anxiety. All she could hear was the buzzing sound coming from the light that hung above them; it was like the calm before the storm. Something was up and the anticipation was eating away at her brains. What did Riko want? What does she want to say?

"Are you an idiot?" Riko questioned bluntly.

Mika quickly looked away from her intense eyes and cupped her hand under her chin, thinking hard to herself. "Hm… I mean, sometimes I can be…" Mika admitted in a soft tone, a little confused why she was asking this.

Riko sighed with annoyance, "I'm talking about Kagami-kun! Are you an idiot?"

The red head eyebrows rose high. "What are you talking about?" But Mika knew better… She knew exactly what the coach was talking about.

"I am already taking a huge risk having you on the team… You can't start complicating things even more by having feelings for your teammates!"

She pouted while lowering her head in shame.

Riko can see how she brought up the problem made her feel worse than she already was. She sighed, "I'm sorry..."

But Mika shook her head no, making eye contact with her. "I am sorry. I don't want to complicate things… I'll try to distance myself from him."

"I didn't say you had to distance yourself from him, Mika-chan… Just try not to catch feelings for the boys, alright?"

She didn't answer. She didn't want to lie. She couldn't look her in the eye. She didn't want to make a promise... because it was already too late.


	9. Chapter 8: Mixed Emotions

**A/N: I am backkkkkk! Well here you are. I hope you guys are enjoying :3 Let me know what you think! Love you all. **

**xoxo sweetpeaa**

* * *

**Chapter eight: Mixed Emotions**

About two weeks passed since Riko and Mika had their encounter. The little red head took her advice though; she distanced herself from Kagami. No more leaving hamburgers at his front door steps, no more eating lunch together, and no more one-on-ones. She even stopped showing up to practices to keep her distance.

Mika stared at the ceiling as she rested in bed with all the lights off. From the corner of her almond shaped eyes, she could see her cell phone lighting up with multiple colors that illuminated the room. She sucked in a deep breath and harshly exhaled as her eyes made its way towards her phone; it's been going off the whole day. She moaned in a sluggish manner as she rolled towards the edge of the bed, reaching out for her phone. She pressed the screen and squint her eyes as it shined brightly at her face.

32 new messages, 5 voicemails, and 51 missed calls.

"Geez…" She mumbled as she clicked onto the details, scrolling down to skim through the names. It was all from her teammates asking questions like, where are you? How come you haven't come to practice? Are you okay? Are you coming today? Is something wrong?

Just when she was about to scroll down to the next text, Kagami's name popped up on her phone as her ringtone went off.

"Aiii!" She screeched while tossing her phone back onto the counter, listening and waiting until her ringtone stopped. And once again, she was staring at the ceiling, being consumed by her own thoughts. She really did miss them, and she missed basketball practice. Of course, Mika wanted to go back, but how could she possibly do that when the boy she is madly attracted to is there?

Kagami groaned, flipping his phone shut as he heard it go to voicemail- yet again. It's been about the fifth time he had tried to call her this week. He honestly couldn't understand why she had stopped showing up to basketball; he knew that she loved it. He didn't know why she stopped doing nice things for him or the team, or why she hadn't want to play one-on-one for awhile. As much as she was a bother to him from time to time, it was a little lonely with out her. He just knew something was up, and with the upcoming game tomorrow, Kagami knew it wouldn't be good to leave things how it was.

"Damn it!" He moaned, rising off the couch. The hot headed teen shut the TV off and opened his door while mumbling swear words under his breath. _I guess I have no choice but to handle this on my own…_

There was a sudden loud banging on the door that startled her. "Saito! Hey! You in there?" The voice was muffled behind closed doors, but she could tell whose voice it was. Mika could feel her heart pounding loudly and a tingling feeling within her insides as she came to a sit on the edge of the bed; it's been so long since she had last heard his deep, raspy voice.

He knocked even louder this time and yelled, "I know you are in there! How come you haven't been showing your face around?! We have a game tomorrow!"

Mika groaned as she smacked her palm in the middle of her face; she had totally forgotten about the double matches they had tomorrow. _Greaaaat… I haven't been practicing since the last time I saw the team either. _

"Heeeellooooo! Open the door, god damn it!" Kagami was getting a little agitated, as usual.

Before the tiny red head knew it, she had gotten out of bed and made her way towards the front door. Her mind was telling her no, but her heart was telling her otherwise; she really, really, really wanted to see him. She wanted to talk to him, spend time with him, and see that ridiculous, cute, cocky smirk of his when he beats her in one-on-one. She could hear Kagami mumbling curse words from the other side of the door as she leaned against it, contemplating if she should open the door. Mika then felt a thud on the other side of the door as he rested his large hand on it, putting his whole weight against the door.

"Can you please open the door?"

Her eyes enlarged as he said this; Kagami's tone of voice was soft and genuine. How could she possibly turn her back on him at this point?

_It's really hard to avoid you when we are neighbors, huh? Kagami-kun… _

She gulped loudly and then slowly cracked the door open, but his whole weight against the door made him stumble forward into the dark apartment. He grunted, coming to a stop and turned to face her with an annoyed expression. "AT LEAST TELL ME YOU ARE GOING TO OPEN THE DOOR SO THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN!"

_He hasn't changed one bit… _

Even during her darkest times, he still had a way to make her smile... Mika curled her pink lips inward, concealing her smile and forced her lips into a pout. "Gomen…" She murmured so timidly as her head lowered.

He softly gasped and lowered his tone, seeing how down she was, "Well… Anyways, haven't you gotten my texts or calls? Or Riko's? Hyuga's? Anyone's?"

She glanced at his face and noticed his frightening stern glare before looking back at the floor, grinding her teeth. "Uhhh..." was all she could manage to get out as she twirled her thumbs in nervousness.

He sighed, cutting to the point, "Are you avoiding the team?"

It was easy to answer; she didn't have to lie. Mika shook her head, "no, I'm not…"

"Then…" He started, not wanting to bring it up, but he felt as though maybe it was true. For once, he had a gut feeling about this one, and he wasn't going to let it slide. "… then you are avoiding me, huh? Why?"

"Uhh…" Looking at his face made it harder for her to lie; she just couldn't do it, but she couldn't find herself admitting it either.

He looked away from her gaze, adjusted his bag that hung on his shoulder. She didn't have to say anything for him to know what the answer was. Of course, it bothered him, and he wanted to lash out on her at that moment, but what was the point? It wouldn't help with the upcoming games. He sighed, holding in all his frustration. _God, 'he' has a way of making me hold back…_ Kagami then looked back at her; he knew this was the only way to get her out of the house and get her talking. He asked, "Want to one-on-one?"

* * *

During their one-on-one, Kagami could tell she was not trying one bit: Sloppy shots that were easily slammed down into the pavement, no quick and flawless fakes, no special dribbling patterns of hers, nothing. He made the shot and then grabbed the ball, holding it in place between his nicely muscular arm and body. The short tempered teen was not having it; no way in hell was he going to waste his precious energy playing with someone who wasn't taking it seriously.

"Don't tell me that is how you are going to play tomorrow." He looked at her while she focused at the ground.

"Gomen…"

"Huh? For what?"

She met his gaze, "I'm sorry for avoiding you the past two weeks…"

"Tsk," he looked away, beginning to dribbling the ball and made a shot. "Are you going to at least tell me what's wrong?"

"You don't care that I ignored you…?"

"Nahhhhh…" He lied as he made another basket. "Now, are you going to answer my question or not? Geez…"

_How can I tell him how I feel without exposing too much?_ She carefully thought before speaking lowly, "I'm just… I just don't want to be a burden to the team…" Mika gasped as she felt his strong hand grip tightly around her small shoulder, whipping her around to face him.

He stared directly into her eyes as he spoke in a calm, yet frightening tone. "If you think you are a burden to the team… You are an idiot."

They held their gaze for a little longer. Mika could smell the scent of his cologne that mixed with a little sweat, and she could feel his warmth radiating towards her. They've never been this close before. She took him all in as well as his words that will be forever planted within her heart. The little red head could feel her face heating up, almost to the point where her cheeks will blush. She was about to break away from his hold, until Kagami backed off, making another shot.

The hazel eyed beauty could feel it easier to breath with him away from her. There was just something about him that made her breathless… She didn't know whether to be afraid of this new feeling or enjoy it. But there was one thing she knew about this feeling- it made her feel happy. And she wished that he could feel the same way as her…

"K-Kaga-"

"We may have had a rough start, and you may have not been here from the beginning. But without you, we wouldn't have gotten this far. Yeah, maybe I could have done it alone without your help, without anyone's help…"

_There goes his cocky side again…_

"… Hell, I used to rely only on myself, but that's not how I want to play. I rely on my team, and they rely on me. I watch their backs, they watch mine. That is what Seirin is all about; we have each other's backs no matter what. So whatever you are going through right now, just know that you don't have to do through it alone. You have all of us right beside you, idiot."

Her eyes widen in shock, and her mouth parted, forming a small O shape. _Was this really coming from bakagami? _ She could feel a melting sensation within her heart and a soft smile formed on her face. "Kagami-kun… Arigato."

While making a shot, he murmured, "yeah, yeah, yeah… Just don't forget to leave a cheeseburger at my door tomorrow."

She covered her mouth as she giggled, "You're an idiot."

He smirked, tossing the ball quickly in her direction. She reacted fast, grabbing hold of it and made a shot; it was nothing but net.

"Ahh, so you still got it in you? Good. You won't suck tomorrow then. Your hands got better?" He asked as he walked towards her and grabbed her fragile hand, examining her scarred palms.

Mika muffled her gasp, looked away and chewed at the inside of her cheek.

"Oh! They are better! Great, I won't have to hold back when I pass you balls then." He exclaimed, still holding onto her hand. Kagami looked down at it, observing it. He never really noticed how tiny her hands were. How pale her skin was and how soft it felt. He gripped it slightly tighter; he liked how squishy her soft hands were. His eyes slowly made its way up her small, yet toned arms to the slope of her neck and then her heart-shaped face; she had these amazing high cheek bones, and she had such a fine jaw line it looked as if she could slay away enemies with it. He finally met her gaze; Mika's almond shaped hazel eyes glimmered at him under the streetlight. His nose cringed as he took in such a sweet scent from her. Kagami took her all in, never really noticing how feminine 'he' looked.

Mika did not blink once as she held his gaze. Oh, how much she loved to look at his dark red eyes. She could stare at him all day. Her heart pounded so loudly, she thought maybe even Kagami could hear it. She started to smile, and her almond shaped eyes slowly formed into half shaped moons as she started to fantasize about him.

He jerked his head back as he gasped, realizing what he was doing. Kagami let go of her hand and started to take couple of steps backwards. "I'm gonna… I'm gonna head out" He stammered and ran off, not looking back once.

She watched him vanish into the night. Her head dangled as she sighed; beginning to slam her tiny fists against her temples. Mika lectured, "God, damn it! I am a guy, Mika! I am a guy! I can't be doing these type of things with him, fuck!"

_Just what the hell am I doing?!_ He shook his head, running as fast as he could to distract himself from his thoughts.


	10. Chapter 9: No More Secrets

**A/N: Here is another one! I am free like every day now and I literally have nothing to do... So I have been writing like crazy! I'll be posting more chapters quickly from now on! Enjoy! Like, fav, review if you want. **

**shoutout to: Keramiks, michellekong7, secretgetaway, AxVxP, AnnoyingTiger88, AnimeRomanceReaderXXX17 and everyone else you had taken the time to read my story. It means so much to me, and I hope you stick with me till the end. Arigato!**

**xoxo Sweetpeaaa**

* * *

**Chapter nine: No More Secrets**

With the final buzzer, Hyuga shot an amazing three pointer which ended the game with a win. The crowd cheered while the Seirin team threw their fists into the air. Kagami and Mika made eye contact as they celebrated; He was happy that he spoke to her the night before the game. She played as if she had been training the past two weeks. The two embraced each other in a tight hug; she hung in the air as her hands wrapped around his sweaty body, squeezing tightly with joy. His huge arm wrapped around her tiny body as his other free hand rubbed at the top of her head. They didn't realize how long their embrace was at first, but Mika gulped loudly, stopping her chanting as she let go of his upper body. Kagami's cheerful laughter stopped as he scooted away from her and straightened his back. Luckily, the rest of the team came to praise them to stop the awkwardness flowing between them.

But from afar, Koganei witnessed it all. He stared at the two with wide eyes and his jaw dropped. He stammered, "I don't know if I am just crazy or not… But did it just look as if Kagami-kun and Saito-kun have something going on…?"

Riko lashed out quickly, turning to face him. She had a pinch forming between her brows, and in a stern tone, "Nothing is going on! You're just crazy!"

He whimpered, startled as how she responded to his naïve question. "I-I-I… Gomen!"

"Whatever!" The fierce brunette huffed as she crossed her arms and turned around to glare at the two. _God, damn it! Mika-chan! _

* * *

It was finally a short break from basketball. Mika relaxed on her comfy bed, reminiscing about her hug with Kagami. The corner of her lips curled as she rolled onto her side, grabbing hold of her fluffy pillow. She squeezed it tightly as a giggle slipped through her lips; she liked the way his large hands felt as he patted her head. She wanted him to do that again…

"Damn it…" She murmured, cursing some more words within her mind. Mika knew she was fucking up and going against Riko's words. As much as she felt guilty, the little red head teen couldn't help it. Mika turned on her side and reached for her phone, scrolling down to find Kagami's name. Her thumb was ready to click on the call button, but stopped when she saw Kuroko's name.

_Oh, yeah… I said I would come visit him soon. It's been awhile since I last said that, huh?_

But her eyes went back onto Kagami's name. She really wanted to call him; she wanted to hear his voice. Although many may say Kagami's voice was deep and intimidating, it was soothing to her ears. Not to mention, she really wanted to play some ball with him again. But her eyes went back to Kuroko's and guilt came over her. It felt as though someone had jabbed her right in the gut. How can she possibly ignore him after taking advantage of his injury? What kind of friend was she?

She groaned, _Sorry Kagami-kun… I guess you'll have to wait for next time._

Mika made her way to the hospital. She entered without knocking this time; he was in the same position as last time, only reading a book.

"Hi, Tetsuya-kun!" She cheerfully greeted as she sat down a nice vase of flowers on the counter table in the corner of the room.

He looked up from his book and gave her a mean glare. Not even holding back, he brought it up, "So… I hear that there was a new person on the Seirin's team."

She froze from adjusting the flowers. _Why is he bringing this up all of a sudden…?_ Her lips were trembling, but she fought through it. Mika gulped, "Oh… Really?"

"Yeah," he answered, "I heard he has flawless fakes and agility. He's pretty short too."

The tiny red head could not find herself turning to face him. She had a feeling Kuroko had already found out. _Maybe it was a bad idea to come visit… Fuck…_

He took in a deep breath and exhaled harshly as the pale teen closed his book, setting it aside. He spoke in a low tone, but his voice sent shivers down her spine. It was quite scary when Kuroko got upset. "Are you an idiot?!"

Kagami could hear Kuroko's angered voice from outside of the room. _What's going on…? _ He tippy toed as quietly as he could and leaned against the wall, slowly peeking to see who he was talking to. His eyes opened wide when he saw her there. _What the hell is 'he' doing here…?_ He was about to barge in and step between the two, but Kuroko's words stunned him.

"You didn't think I would find out, Mika? If I found out so easily just by watching a simple video of the game, how are the rest of the Generation of Miracles are going to react to this? How is the team going to react to this?"

_Mika…? Did he just say Mika?_, Kagami thought.

She slowly lowered her head in shame and curled her tiny hands into tight fists. "Tetsuya-kun, I'm sorry… But I just wanted to play."

"You put the team at risk by joining! Why couldn't you just gather girls and form a team like how a normal person would? Why do you have to be so complicated and go through all this mess?"

A gasp slipped through Kagami's parted lips. This information was too much for him to take in. Was he really hearing correctly? That Saito-kun was actually a girl? And 'his' name was actually Mika? Just what the hell was going on?! He couldn't process all this information at once. Too angry to even approach the arguing two, he stormed off knowing exactly who to go to.

Kuroko waited for an answer, but looking at the sadness forming in her eyes, he sighed; he hated hurting her feelings. "Mika, gomen… I didn't mean it to come off like that. It's just…" He paused trying to find the right words. "… I just don't like the fact you took this chance to replace me. But I completely understand, you just wanted to play, huh? It's been a long time since you've been on court..." He noticed she had not budge or looked at him. "Mika," she finally glanced up from the ground, and he patted on the edge of the bed, "come here."

She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. What choice did she have? She couldn't run away at this point. Mika made her way to his side and sat beside him. "I'm sorry, Tetsuya-kun… Maybe I should have told you in the first place… Or maybe I shouldn't have done this at all."

He shook his head. "No, knowing you, you'd do this no matter what. I'm glad that you finally got the chance to play, but do the right thing and tell the team. Please don't make me be the one to do it…"

Her eyebrow cocked high, "You wouldn't do that, would you?"

"I don't want to, but if I have to, I will."

She gave him puppy eyes and put her hands firmly together and pleaded, "Please, don't! Can't you just keep this a secret since the season is almost over? I worked really hard to keep up with the team… I don't want it to end!" The little red head could see him giving in, so she begged some more, "Please… Tetsuya-kuuuuuuuuuun."

He sighed, rolled his eyes, and looked away from her pathetic pouting face. She always knew how to get her way with that look, and he was always stupid enough to fall for it, especially when they were younger. "Fine…"

Her eyes lit up as her hands laced together.

"Although I hate it, I'll agree to it. Only until the season is over!" He shook his pointed finger at her as he lectured.

She giggled, embracing him in a tight hug. "Thank you, Tetsuya-kun! I am so sorry too. I didn't mean to make you feel this way."

He smirked for a split second before wrapping his arms around her small frame, gently patting the center of her back. "No, I understand Mika-chan… It's fine. Just be careful out there."

* * *

An angry Kagami slammed his fist against the wooden door. It opened and a tiny brunette stood before him. Her eyes widen in surprise. "Kagami-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Saito-kun is a girl!" He blurted, cutting to the point.

She rolled her eyes and sighed; she knew eventually someone would find out about her being a girl, but she didn't think bakagami would be the first to find out. She wanted to know how, but it didn't really matter.

There was no point in hiding it any longer. "I already knew."

His eyes widen and eyebrows rose high as he yelled, "What the hell?! How can you hide something like that from us?! Not to mention, she can get really hurt out there!"

She crossed her arm and an eyebrow rose, ignoring everything he had said except the last part. Riko questioned, "You really care about her, huh?"

"Uhhhh.. Er, huh.. Hm… Eh, the point is you really fucked up on not telling us!"

A chuckle rose from her throat, _don't tell me you fell for her, bakagami…?_

"You know what?! I'm just gonna tell the team on my own, damn it." He said as he turned around, beginning to stomp down the stairs.

"Kagami! Wait!"

"What?!" He angrily yelled as he faced her.

"I don't want the rest of the team to find out… Can we just keep this secret between the two of us?" She asked nicely.

"And why would I?"

"Look, I don't like keeping this secret from you guys either, but it could start problems!" She bit back. "I'm afraid that if we tell the team, they'll act differently around her on the court, and it may ruin the flow of our win streak. They'll play too cautiously if they knew she is a girl… We can wait after the season to tell the team, okay?"

_She is right…_ He thought, slightly calming down from his burst of rage. He huffed angrily as he turned around and mumbled, "whatever" before walking off.

He stomped his way up to his apartment and great… The person he did not want to see at the moment just so happened to be at her front door step. They made direct eye contact; she was smiling happily at him as she waved, "Hi Kagami-kun! Want to one-on-one?"

He quickly looked away from her, ignored her question, and slammed his door shut. She jumped from the loud slam and stared at his door, pondering why he had totally ignored her.

The hot headed teen threw his bag onto the ground, kicked off his shoes, and jumped in bed. He was tired, but the thoughts roaming through his mind kept him awake. He was upset; he hated how she had lied to him the whole time. He hated how she kept this a secret from the team, but in the back of his mind, Kagami was happy she was a girl. At least, whatever strange feeling he had that night at the court, he was relieved about it. The brainless teen now understood why it felt so different to be around her. He realized why she trained twice as hard as the rest of the team, why she had always worn her uniform ahead of time before games, and why she didn't step foot in the hot spring; it was all because she was a girl. It was so clear to him now. _How stupid could I be not to see through this?_

Under his breath, he muttered, "damn it…" and then rubbed his large hand down his face. He gasped, raising his hand above his face and replayed all the times he had hit her in the chest, finally realizing why she had always winced in pain. He sighed while staring at his hand and mumbled, "I touched her boobs…"


	11. Chapter 10: Changes

**A/N: shout outs to Anime1FREAK, PaleSakuraBlossom, scarletbleedsforyou, AxCxp (because I butchered your name in my last chapter, gomen), animenarutox30, and bloody child.**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews! Keramiks and AnimeRomanceReaderXXX17!**

**and to everyone else who is reading!**

**Hope you are enjoying! **

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Changes**

Maybe Riko was right; ever since Kagami had found out that Saiko was actually a girl, he did think different of her. He did treat her differently than before. As much as he wanted to think and pretend she was just one of the boys, he just couldn't.

A day before their next match, the team had another training day. Everything was going great this week until today; nothing worse than having their period right before a game. As Mika ran around the gym with the team, there was a major aching pain in her abdomen. And she had this unbearable sensation pounding at her lower back. Her cramps were definitely throwing her off her A game. The little red head groaned as she winced in pain, grasping tightly at her aching abdomen. She was slowly falling behind.

Riko's eyebrows furrowed inwards as she observed her. She crossed her arms and knew exactly what was wrong. She blew her whistle and then said, "Alright, how about we take a short break or something?"

Hyuga came to a slow stop, and he looked at her in a puzzled way. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh? No? Why would you ask that?"

"You would usually make us run laps for hours."

The brunette made a quick excuse. "True, but I don't want to make you guys work too hard before a game. We'll take it easy today."

Mika slowly wobbled over to the bench and sat down. She was hunched over with her arms grabbing tightly around her stomach. A soft whimper slipped through her plush lips before she grabbed her back and dug through it.

"Damn it… I didn't bring any Tylenol today…" She mumbled sadly as she dropped her back beside her foot.

Kagami took a long sip from his drink, glancing over at her repeatedly. He didn't know if he should check on her or not. It looked as if she was suffering from a stomach ache or something.

_Maybe I should go check on her… nah, maybe I shouldn't. Wait, maybe I should… _

To Riko, it looked as if he was rocking back and forth in his seat, when, really, Kagami was conflicted with getting out of his seat to check on her or not. Her eyebrow rose high in question, until she looked towards where he was looking at—Mika.

She sighed and shook her head.

The hot headed teen finally groaned as he stood up. Kagami mumbled, "damn it, why not…" He stomped his way towards her. She was still hunched over and stared at the ground before her. It looked as though she had seen his shadow approaching since she had lifted her head before he could greet her.

She beat him to it. "Oh, Kagami-kun. Hi."

It was subtle, but Kagami could hear the pain in her voice. He stuttered, "Uh… Well, are you okay?" and then took a seat right next to her.

Silence.

He looked down at her; she formed her pink lips into a pout before softly biting her bottom lip. It looked as if she didn't know how to answer him, but he couldn't get his mind off the way her lips looked. In fact, the only thing running through his mind was how it tasted like: Was it sweet? Are her lips soft? Does it taste fruity like how her scent was? Or maybe it tasted like cheeseburgers… Kagami wouldn't mind that. He wanted to know, and he wanted to feel her lips pressed against his.

"I… I just have a headache."

The big dummy shook his head once he heard her timid voice. He quickly looked when he had saw she locked eyes with his. _Jesus… Was I really thinking all that?! _But then he turned to her. "If you have a headache… Why are you holding onto your stomach?" He asked while pointing at her.

"Uhhh!" She quickly removed her arms off her stomach and lied, "I-I have a stomach and headache… Eh."

He looked at her with a blank expression, but his face shortly lit up once he understood. "Oh! That makes sense. Okay. Damn… Well, hopefully you just feel better for tomorrow! Don't want you fucking up!" Kagami joked as he laughed. His muscular arm rose, ready to give her the usual smack on the chest, until he saw Mika flinching with her eyes closed before he even hit her. His eyes widen as he remembered Saito was a girl. So instead, with his large hand, he softly patted her head. His fingers gently ran through her silky red hair; he had never felt anything this soft before. And the surprised look on her face was priceless. Having his large manly hand petting her ever so gently melted her heart, and deep inside his pounding organ, he could feel a warming sensation emerging; he wanted to be the only one who made her look that way, and she wanted him to be the only one to ever embrace her like that.

As the two red headed teens got lost in each other's gaze, the two just knew whatever they felt for one another was a feeling they only had for each other.

"Hello! You two bakas!"

The two broke their gaze as they stared at the yelling brunette right before them; Riko had her mean glare and hands curled tightly into fists.

Kagami's hand fell quickly to his side as he turned his body away from her.

Mika stammered, beginning to poke her index fingers together, "Uh… Yes, coach?" She tried her best to lock on Riko's gaze, but the intensity in her orbs sent chills running down the back of her spine; she just had to look away while Riko replied in an angry tone.

"I've been calling you two for a good five seconds! Break is over! Get your butts out on the court already!"

She quickly straightened her back and bowed waist down, "hai!" and then ran off towards the rest of the team, who were practicing shooting hoops.

And although Riko had no words to say to Kagami, he could already tell what she was thinking just by the look in her big brown eyes as he glanced at her before running off; they were screaming—don't you dare start doing that kind of stuff in public.

* * *

The fierce red head rested on her back, watching the television as she dug a huge scoop of double chocolate ice cream. Her mouth watered as she thought about the sweet, cold, milky flavor melting on her tongue. But right before she could even experience that delight, there was a soft knock on the door. Her head cocked towards the direction and her eyebrows rose high.

"Kagami-kun?" She softly mumbled under her breath as she quickly got up and sprinted towards the door. Mika did not hesitate one bit to fling that door right open. With a big smile on her face, she greeted, "hello!" But there was no one at her front door step.

"Hm?" She looked left and right. No one. Her eyes then looked at Kagami's door; there was no light shining through the bottom of the door. "That's strange…" She murmured, beginning to close her door, until she glanced down. Her almond shaped orbs turned into full moons—there seemed to be two bottles with a sticky note on the top of it. She slowly squatted and ripped off the note, holding it closer to her eyes to read the terrible hand written note on it.

_You said you had a headache and stomach ache so I got you some Tylenol and Pepto-Bismol . _

_P.s You didn't give me a burger today… moron. _

A tingling sensation erupted in the pit of her stomach. She giggled as she held the bottles close to her heart. _He is such a dork…_ Mika thought to herself.

* * *

The boys gathered in a close circle as Riko prepped talked. "This game is very important. We must win no matter what, but please… Please be careful."

"Tsk. We always are! Why are you so worried, coach!" Kagami ignorantly commented with that cocky smirk of his, but it shortly faded away when he saw the concern look on her face, as well as the rest of the team. He had never really seen them so sad, so worried and agitated—the second years were just fuming with mixed emotions.

"Am I missing something?" Kagami asked.

"The team we are facing… Let's just say we have history." Hyuga answered in a very stern tone. He had his arms crossed and closed eyes. His grip around his upper arm was so tight, it looked as if he was about to burst any second. He then moved his arms to his side and curled them tightly into fists as he stormed out of the room.

All the first years stared in shock while Izuki ran off to calm down Hyuga. But they all knew, whatever history they had with the team they were facing, wasn't good whatsoever.

"Can I ask what happened?" Kawahara asked.

"Last year, when we played against Kirisaki Daichi High, they injured one of our teammates, and he is still recovering till this day… Their way of playing is really dirty and cheap… That's why I want you guys to be careful out there today." The brunette answered in a low and sadden tone, and her eyes shot directly at Mika, who glanced away quickly; she knew Riko was mostly directing that to her.

"Really?" Kagami voice rose with a tint of anger. He then turned to face Mika and asked, "is this why you left the team?"

Just hearing that school's name irked the little red head. She could hear the rest of the first years starting to question about her being at Kirisaki Daichi, but she totally zoned them all out. As she sat on the bench; her arms were resting on her thighs, and she was fully hunched over, staring at the blue pavement below her. It felt as if her heart was about to beat out of her chest and no matter how much she sucked in air to fill her lungs, she felt breathless. Was she really ready to do this? Was she really ready to face Kirisaki Daichi High? As much as she hated them and wanted to defeat them, Mika couldn't help but think that maybe this was the dumbest thing she had ever done. All that fear she once threw out of the window came rushing back.

_Am I going to get hurt? Am I going to get injured? Will Kagami-kun? Who will they target this time… Who will they destroy this time…_ Tons and tons of thoughts rushed through her mind, sending more and more anxiety rushing through her body. Already, Kirisaki Daichi High was destroying her morale.

"Oi." Kagami nudged her and asked, "Are you okay?" She broke away from her terrible thoughts and looked up at him. Even for an idiot, he could see the life just draining out of her. That determination and feisty aura within her shimmering hazel eyes were gone. He just knew right there that this team they will be facing was something serious.

Her lips parted, ready to explain, but she bit hard on her lip. She didn't want to admit it to them—to kagami. Mika just knew if she said what she wanted to say, he'd flip out on her or something. She had to be strong, or at least pretend to be. But truly deep down inside, she was scared.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I'll have the next chapter posted Sunday (maybe tonight or tomorrow). Please feel free to like, fav, or review. It would mean a lot to me.**

**Until next time!**

**xoxo sweetpeaaa**


	12. Chapter 11: Old Nemesis part 1

**A/N: Shout outs to: Hikari-neko91 and Xxdreamgirl95xX**

**I listened to this song that helped me write this out.**

**Song: The xx- intro **

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Old Nemesis part 1**

The crowd roaring as they cheered, footsteps screeching off the court, the basketball bouncing loudly in a rhythmic pattern along with her beating heart, beads of sweat pouring down her face, and her rapid breathing—never had she been his exhausted from a game. Not to mention, the aching sensation in her gut from being jabbed couple of times. It was the second quarter already; the little fierce red head was going one-on-one with yours truly… Hanamiya Makoto.

She came to a sudden halt when he blocked her path, quickly skimming her surroundings to look for an open as she wiped her dripping sweat with her jersey, but there was none.

_I guess I have no choice…_

Whatever fear she had earlier before the game vanished the instant she stepped foot on that court; she was fearless than ever and even enraged after seeing the bruises forming down Mitobe's long arms. She grind her teeth hard together and tsked as she lunged forward, quickly using her blind switch to pass him with ease.

_Should I pass to Kagami?_

She asked herself as she glanced over to her right, but no. She couldn't. The little red head just couldn't. In her own way, she was in her zone, wanting to show up Makoto what she was all about. She kept moving forward as Kagami blocked the teen from getting in her path. She elegantly jumped into the air and tossed the ball against the backboard scoring a point that slightly closed the gap between their scores.

"Nice one!" Kagami called. A small smirk formed on her pale face as she slowly jogged her way back to the middle.

Again, the two were going one-on-one. Her hazel eyes intensely glaring at him while dribbling the ball. She swore she could hear him mumbling some words to himself, but it was too quite to make out what he had said. Mika then made her move; she was in the middle of using her blind switch, being able to pass Makoto, but her eyes widen and a gasp slipped from her lips when a huge player blocked her way.

_Double teaming?_

Her small shoulder ran into his very toned chest, and she swore it felt like running into a cement wall. A sharp pain came to her gut as she gasped for air. Too shocked from the pain to move, the ball was taken right from under her, and they managed to make nothing but net, widening the gap between their scores as the buzzer went off.

* * *

"Are you okay, Mitobe-kun?" Kaganei asked as he held an ice pack against his upper arm. Mitobe was badly bruising up all over his body, and it hurt her to see him in that condition. She quickly looked away from the aching teen. She was so angry, but the sharp shooting pain coming from her sides were distracting how truly upset she was. Her pale face winced in pain as she grabbed tightly to her abdomen.

Of course, Riko noticed right away; she had been keeping a close eye on her ever since she was rammed in the gut the first quarter. "Keep icing Mitobe down. Saito, come with me."

The two walked towards the little room behind the lockers. Mika could tell how worried Riko was, and it saddened to see her coach in that situation.

"Can you lift up your shirt?"

She hesitated to do so. She didn't want Riko to see, but it was mostly because she didn't want to see it for herself.

"Mika…" She softly whispered in a stern tone, not wanting the rest of the team to hear her name.

_What choice do I have…?_ Slowly, Mika's tiny hands reached for the hem of her jersey and started to lift up her shirt. But she stopped when Riko's eyes glanced towards the door; Kagami was slightly leaning towards the door as if he was peeping to see what was up. Her eyes lit up with curiosity of why Kagami-kun was there.

Riko slammed the door shut without saying anything to him and continued to ask for her to lift up her jersey. She did so without ever looking down, but by the look on Riko's face… It must have looked awful. The brunette bit her bottom lip before turning her back on Mika and walked towards the freezer. She pulled out an ice pack and held it out to Mika.

"Please ice it, okay?"

The red head just nodded as she slipped the ice pack under her jersey.

"Mika… I…" Riko started, not knowing how to tell the stubborn red head how she truly felt. "I want to-"

"Don't you dare tell me you want to pull me out of the game." Mika bit back.

Of course, Riko wanted to protest like how she always does, but nothing was coming out of her mouth. She had never seen Mika this serious about a game. This was really personal to Mika…

"I may be shorter than them and I may be weaker than them, but I will not lose to them. WE will not lose to them. I WON'T witness one of my friends getting thrown on a stretcher today." With that being said, Mika stormed out of the room, not even looking at the concerned Kagami standing near the doorway.

Riko walked out and stood beside him. "She's okay…" She softly said, answering Kagami's question before he could even ask.

He glanced down at the little brunette. "Take her out of the game." He demanded in his low tone.

She simply shook her head. "I tried, but she doesn't want it…"

* * *

It was now fourth quarter; Seirin High was four points behind (78-74). Riko had called time out to, at least, have Mitobe rest for a short while. Everyone was concerned from him; he was so worn out.

"What are we going to do, coach?" Koganei whined as he helped ice Mitobe down.

Mika dug her nails into her thigh as she replayed their dirty moves. How dare they attack Mitobe so much like that… But without them playing this dirty, she wouldn't be this fired up to win. She looked up from the ground and stared forward as an idea popped in her mind.

"Hyuga-senpai… Keep making three pointers to help ups catch up and to bring away attention from Mitobe as much as possible." She mumbled in a low and stern tone.

The team went silent as they looked at her. She wasn't showing it, but they could all tell she was furious. Unlike how easily they could tell when Kagami was angry, she was silent about it.

But what shocked them the most was what she said next. "I'll cover Hanamiya from under the basket."

"W-wait… Hold up, Saito-kun!" Izuki started to protest.

"Yeah, you shouldn't do that! You're so much smaller than him, and you aren't a good defender at all." Koganei added.

_Has she really lost it…?_ Kagami was screaming in his head, and as much as he didn't want to say anything. He couldn't hold it in. The hot tempered teen blurted, "are you a fucking idiot?!"

She lightheartedly giggled with a smile, which stunned him. "Don't worry."

The whistle went off as the referee called everyone back into play.

"R-riko! Do something." Hyuga said.

But she had nothing to say other than, "Hyuga… Just keep shooting your three pointers."

"Nani?!"

"Just do it." She bit.

The starters went right back into play, and Mika could feel her heart racing so quickly. It felt as if she was going to pass out right there. She huffed nervously, _there's no other way… _

The plan was going smoothly; Hyuga made a three pointer which closed the gap by one point behind. Her eyes glanced up at the score board to check the time; only ten seconds left of the game… Izuki passed the ball to Hyuga again. The opponents heavily guarded Hyuga as he threw the ball. She sprinted right under the basket and bummed hard against Makoto, who just laughed as he mumbled, "you blocking me? Hahah. Yeah, right! I got this one!"

Being blocked so heavily, Hyuga was short on his three pointer; the basketball bounced right off, Makoto jumped quickly into the air, trying to catch the rebound._ It is now or never…_ She thought as she pushed off the ground too.

_Baka! You can't get it! _Kagami started to bend his knees about to help out, until the person who was guarding him stepped onto his shoe, stopping him from jumping.

He groaned as he glared at the teen; mentally stabbing him with daggers. _Fuck!_ And then his eyes went right back to the little red head._ Mika… what the hell are you thinking?!_

A devilish smirk formed across her pale face as she looked up at Makoto. He met her gaze as he came back down from grabbing the rebound and gasped when he finally understood what her plan was. Her tiny body bounced off him and grunted as she slammed against the hard wooden court. The whistle went off and the referee called a foul. He stood over her and groaned, "You fucking asshole… You're going to get it number fourteen… You are going to get it."

She slowly sat on her bum. _As long as it's not one of my boys…_ She was about to get up, until a large shadow consumed her. She looked up to see Kagami standing before her with a helping hand. A smile was forming on her face, but she quickly sucked in her lips as she reached out to him. The first thought that ran through her mind: His hand… its so large and warm, and it's around mine…

"Tsk… You're an idiot, you know? You aren't good at shooting…"

Mika smirked, "I know. It was the only way… You know what to do." She then walked towards the line and the referee handed her the ball. The crowd was so quite which made Mika even more nervous now. Her blood was pumping as she dribbled the ball beside her. She held the ball in her hands at her waist, zoning everything and concentrating on her breathing. _Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. _

_I can do this… _She started to raise the ball over her head ready to shoot.

The first years watched by the side lines in nervousness.

"Do you really think 'he' can do it…"

"'He's' not that strong in shooting, is 'he'?"

Riko cupped her hand under her chin and smirked, "Have faith in 'him.' Remember that one day we trained just on shooting? Saito-kun isn't that good, but 'he' has a 50/50 chance shot rate—only making at least one in every other try. And in this case, 'he' gets two tries."

The team's faces lit up when they replayed that training day. "Which means…"

She nodded with a half grin, "Yes. 'His' goal is to only make one basket in."

Mika took in a deep breath and exhaled as she tossed in the ball—nothing but net. The crowd cheered as their score went up a point, tying the game. She eyed Kagami as she dribbled the ball, ready to make the next shot. He slightly nodded and started to slide his feet further apart. Mika tossed the ball again, but it hit the rim. Right at the moment he heard the contact, he sped his way towards the basket and slam dunked it in. The team and crowd roared with happiness as they finally caught the lead with one point.

But it wasn't over yet! There were only a few seconds left in game, and Kirisaki did not hesitate to move quickly at all. She gasped, sprinting towards the other side of the court, trailing Makoto all the way under the basket. Once again, the ball was flying right at them. She knew she couldn't catch it, but her feet were already lifting off the ground before she even knew it. He towered over her with such ease.

_D-did my plan go to waste…?_

Her heart was already sinking. She just knew right then and there that she would be the reason why Seirin was going to lose. Her tiny feet were already touching the ground while Makoto was free falling with the ball in his hands. But the worst part of it all was that he was coming down too fast for her to react. She was frozen right under him with his elbow aiming for the center of her face. Her almond shaped eyes stared in horror; all she could do was prepare herself for the impact.

But a white jersey flashed before her eyes, and before she even knew it, she was stumbling backwards—it was Kagami. Makoto's elbow slid against Kagami's large manly chest; if that was her face, she'd be a goner, but against Kagami's chest, it looked so delicate. It didn't even faze him. Makoto tsked as he grind his teeth together. He lunged in the air, ready to slam the ball in the hoop, but the hot headed teen yell rumbled in the back of his throat as he jumped in the air, ready to block it. His long arms overpowered Makoto's as Kagami slammed the basketball in his hand down onto the court as the final buzzer went off.

And at that moment, all the jabs she had taken from Kirisaki were worth it.

* * *

"I'm going to go fill up my water bottle. I'll be right back, alright?"

Hyuga looked over his shoulders. "Alright, don't take too long Saito-kun! Riko just reserved our table not too long ago."

"KBBQ! YAS!" Koganei cheered happily.

She raised her hand up as she turned around. "Don't worry. I'll meet you guys in the front shortly!" The little red head made her way towards the wash room where there were water fountains. She had a small white towel hanging from her neck to catch the last of her sweat dripping from her hair. Mika took a long sip from the water fountain before she took out her water canteen and filled it up. A gasp slipped between her lips when she felt a strong hand grab hold of her wrists. She was thrown against the wall as her water canteen fell onto the floor, spilling ice cold water all over the ground.

It was déjà vu… Makoto had her hugged against the wall again with his arms around her. Nothing changed about him; he still had that awful smell lingering from his breath as he heavily breathed on her.

"W-what do you want?" She asked in a timid tone, pressing hard against the wall.

He just grinned, coming closer to her face which left her to whimper. "You know… I'm impressed. I would have never guessed you would do such a crazy thing. I would have never thought you'd hit me and run off too and then defeat us. Is that a way to leave things off? Do you really hate me that much, Mika-chan?"

Another gasp. She looked up into his evil eyes as she felt her body tremble. _Not… Not this feeling again…_ "H-how… What are you talking about?" She lied.

He just scoffed at her pathetic attempt. "Do you really think I am that dumb? Do you really think I could forget the color of your beautiful hair?" She flinched when his hand moved closer to her face, only to gently stroke a lock of her hair between his thumb and index finger.

"Do you really think I would forget that small mole right under your almond shaped eyes?" He softly glided his finger tips across it, leaving shivers running down the back of her spine. She pressed harder and harder against the wall, but no matter how much she tried to distance herself from him, he was always right there.

"Do you think I could…" He embraced her, moving his face closer to the slope of her neck, taking in a big whiff. She whimpered, closed her eyes, and looked away from him. "… I could forget that fruity scent of yours?"

"I-I… I don't know what you're talking about!" She blurted.

He just laughed. There was really no point in trying to deny it. "Oh? Really?" He said playfully. "Then how about I check for myself…?" He said in a low and seductive tone as his large hand started to reach for her chest. She watched in horror as he teasingly started to grasp nothing but air—as if he was preparing himself for a nice handful of her soft chest.

But a large tan hand grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him from getting any closer to her. She looked up with puppy eyes.

"K-kagami-kun…" She murmured. He glared down at her with a emotionless expression and then looked back at Makoto, his hand still grasped tightly on his wrist. With one soft push, Makoto stumbled backwards, letting her gain her personal space back. A sigh of relief escaped her precious plumped lips.

"What are you doing here?" She asked timidly.

"You were taking too long so I came to get you." He answered quickly and then turned his focus on the loser. "What are you doing to my teammate, you fucker."

He just scoffed as he patted his shoulder. "Are you serious? Don't tell me you can't tell?"

Mika shrunk in embarrassment. _Oh no…_


	13. Chapter 12: Old Nemesis part 2

**Chapter Twelve: Old Nemesis part 2**

Kagami kept a straight face and in his deep monotone voice, "I don't know what you are talking about, moron." He slowly walked closer and closer to Makoto, grabbing him by his jersey and pulled him on; their faces only inches apart. "If you ever bother my teammates again… I will kick your ass." He coldly said.

Makoto wasn't fazed by his threat. In fact, he just did his usual laugh. Which angered Kagami even more. She could feel the pent up rage about to burst in Kagami. The little teen took a step forward with her hand out and yelled "Ka-kagami-kun!" as she heard a groan rumbling in the back of his throat.

The hot tempered teen looked him dead in the eyes. Oh, he fucking wanted to punch him so badly. For Mitobe. For Mika. For his senpais. For Riko. For everyone. _Why the hell not?!_ He curled his hand into a tight fist and began to swing his arm at his face.

"Kagami-kun!" She pleaded.

But Hyuga and Izuki quickly came to his side; Hyuga held onto Kagami's arm and Izuka pulled him away from Makoto.

"Kagami-kun, calm down!"

"What's going on?"

Mika could hear footsteps coming closer from behind.

"Is everything alright?!"

"Not again!"

The team stopped by her side and watched.

Hyuga adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms as Kagami stretched his long arms out of Izuki's hold.

"Why are you guys stopping me? This guy deserves to get a beat down!"

"Calm down. There is no point. As much as I would love to punch him too, we already won the game. That's all that matters." Hyuga answered in a calm voice.

Makoto's annoying laughter echoed off the small hallway. Of course, it provoked Kagami even more, but he knew better. Hyuga-senpai was right. The Seirin team just observed this crazy teen laughing. He turned his back on them and said, "Whatever! Losers! I don't have to tell you anything. I'm sure it will all fall apart anyways. Haha!"

Koganei's eyebrow rose high. "What is he talking about?"

Riko rolled her eyes before giving Mika a death glare, already knowing exactly what Makoto was talking about. She jerked a little, glancing away from her coach's angry glare. But a large hand patting away at her small shoulder gave her peace at mind. She knew exactly whose hand it was. How can she possibly forget? She looked up at the hot headed teen standing before her.

"Are you okay?"

All she could do was give him a sweet and sincere smile. "Hm." She nodded as her eyes twinkled up at him, and he never once broke away from her gaze either. In fact, he was getting lost in her hazel eyes.

Koganei leaned close to the rest of the team, cupped his hand around his mouth and whispered, "Are you sure there is nothing going on between those two?"

A pinch formed between her eyebrows as she glared at the two. She cleared her throat loudly and stomped her foot on the ground. "ALRIGHT CAN WE GO EAT NOW?!"

Kagami and Mika looked away quickly, almost forgetting the whole team was there. In fact, she was forgetting that she was supposed to be posing as a guy. Whenever she was around Kagami… She just wanted to be a girl.

_Shit… Was I staring too long?_ Kagami thought as he rubbed the back of his neck. He smoothly broke into laughter and smacked her on the back. She huffed out a lot of air as he did so. "Alright! Okay. Let's go eat. I am starving!" He tried to cheerfully say, breaking the awkwardness between everyone.

* * *

After BBQ , Kagami invited everyone over to his place for a movie night—mostly because he just wanted more time with Mika. They all gathered around the television, trying to watch the horror movie. It was during a suspenseful part: scary sound playing in the background as one of the characters is walking in the dark, not knowing when the attacker was going to come out. Everyone shivering in fear, pop corn being slowly thrown in mouths as their eyes widen, some had their hands covering their eyes (peaking through the cracks, not wanting to miss a thing), a few unafraid at all. Surprisingly, Kagami was the most scared one out of all. Just then the television roared with a loud sound and screams filled the apartment as popcorn went flying everywhere. Mika burst out in laughter, seeing Kagami freak out like that besides her was priceless. Then everyone started to laugh too, mumbling how scared they were.

"DON'T SPILL THE POPCORN ALL OVER THE PLACE KOGANEI!" Kagami yelled.

"Gomen!"

After the movie, everyone got up to get ready to leave.

"Oh, you aren't leaving yet, Saito-kun?"

She shook her head. "I'll help and clean."

"Oh, okay. Well, bye! See you guys soon?"

"Bye"

"See you later, Kagami, Saito."

The team then left the apartment, leaving the two in complete silence.

"You know… You don't have to stay and help." He was lying through his teeth though, no way in hell did he want to clean all this shit up on his own.

She just laughed already knowing this, so she teased, "Oh, alright. I'll just go th-"

"Wait!" He blurted, she stopped walking away and turned to face him.

"What was that?"

He started to blush lightly as he glanced away, mumbling things to himself—too quiet for her to hear.

She just giggled, covering her smile with a hand, "that's what I thought!"

They cleaned up the room and then made it out towards the balcony. Kagami came out holding two Popsicle sticks—it was a routine every time she came over.

"Arigato." She said, grabbing one out of his hand.

The red heads enjoyed each other's silent company, just gazing at the night sky and busy streets below them. She held her gasp in her throat when Kagami's elbow gently brushed against her upper arm; he had his arms resting on the railing as he stared out.

_He's not moving it away either…_ She thought, holding in her breath. Her pale face was turning bright red and her heart was pounding louder than ever.

Just like that… One simple little touch sent her wild.

"Are you nervous for our next game?"

She finally exhaled, "Huh? No… Not really why?"

He took some time to reply. "Can I be honest with you?"

Her eyebrow cocked high. "Sure…"

"I'm a little nervous for this one."

She tsked, not believing what was coming out of bakagami's mouth. "Yeah, right."

"No, I am serious!" He said in a stern tone. And her eyes slightly widen by the intense and serious look in his face.

"Wait, who are we facing again?"

He rolled his eyes and mumbled, "you are hopeless…" and then answered, "Too Academy."

She slightly gasped, _Shit… That's right… Aomine-kun…_ Now that he had brought it up, she was getting nervous for the game too. Aomine was one of the best players she had ever saw, and she even picked up some of her moves from him.

"I went one-on-one with him one time… Fucker passed me so easily… I couldn't even react to his speed and agility."

She wasn't too shock to hear this; not a lot of people can take on Aomine, and Kagami is the type to doubt opponents sometimes. She felt liquid dripping on her hand and looked down to see her Popsicle melting. Mika quickly started to lick it away before taking a big bite.

As Kagami rambled on about Aomine, she couldn't help but think about what had happen earlier with Makoto. His last words repeating in her mind over and over. She hated him so much, but at the end of the day, he is right. What if things do fall apart? What if they found out and everything goes to shit? When will they find out? During a game? During practice? At school? Or what if she told them after the season and they still freaked out? Hated her? Never wanted to speak to her again? His words were just eating away at her mind.

But there was one thing she really knew; she wanted to be the one to tell them when it was time to stop this act. Yes, she wanted to wait after the season, but what if it was too late? What if they found out before the season could be over?

She honestly never really thought this all through, and right now was the worst time for it all to come, especially with a big game tomorrow. Her eyes glanced at Kagami, who was gazing out at the sky still rambling on about things. Did she want to risk having him find out by someone else?

_Maybe right now is the right time to tell him…_

Her heart started to pound. A slow, steady beat but a loud one. _Thum. Thum. Thum. Thum._ She gulped, "Kagami-kun…"

He paused in his mid-sentence and looked her way. He kept a straight face, but he was deeply surprised by her nervous expression.

"… I have to tell you something." She said without waiting for a response from him.

His eyebrow rose with curiosity. "What is it?"

"I… I…"

_I can do it…_

"I'm…"

_Come on just say the words!_

"You'reeeeee?" He started, getting tired of her hesitation. He then gasped, _is she going to come out with her secret to me?!_

"I'm a… I'm a…"

_Oh, my god! She is!_

"I'm scared of the match tomorrow, too!" She said loudly, feeling a cold sweat dripping down the back of her neck.

He could feel the life just draining from him. _Are you fucking kidding me?_

_Ha ha ha... Maybe next time it will work out..._


	14. Chapter 13: Injury

**Chapter thirteen: Injury**

She could see the crowd chanting—their mouths moving as they screamed on the top of their lungs. Their fists being thrown into the air, hands clapping while other's had theirs cupped around their mouths as they chanted. She scanned down the bench—her teammates breathing hard, beads of sweat rolling down every inch of their body. Riko was standing in front of the team, encouraging the team as usual while the rest of the team helped the regulars with drinks and sweat towels.

She could see all of this happening, but she heard none of their voices, none of the sounds around her. Everyone was hassling, but in her mind, everything was moving so slowly. Her loud beating heart followed along with her panting breaths was the only thing concentrated on. The only time she bothered moving an inch was when a drop of sweat rolled down onto her eyelid; she wiped it away with her sweat wristband. The tiny red head then let out a long exhale before taking a swig of her ice cold water-The liquid easing her dry throat.

Mika stared at the ground before her, getting lost in her thoughts. She hadn't even realized the referee blowing loudly on his whistle, calling for the players to get back on court.

"Saito! Saito! SAITO!"

She could hear Kagami's loud voice breaking through her thoughts—his voice echoing in her ears as she glanced towards the sound of his voice. Her eyes widen as she made eye contact with him. He motioned his hand towards himself and gave a slight nod. "Hurry and get your ass out here! We don't have time to daydream moron!"

Mika took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling before standing up. She could tell Kagami was agitated. Who wouldn't be at this point? They were many points behind. The gap was so wide. Honestly, she didn't even know how they would make a comeback at this point. She glanced at the floor and shook her head in shame. _I knew facing Aomine-kun would be trouble…_

"Saito! Get your ass over here now!"

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked towards his direction again; anger read all over his tan face. Mika slowly jogged her way across the court, making her way passed Aomine, until he grabbed her tightly by the wrist. She gasped as her small body hit against his firm chest, slightly feeling the outline of his muscular body. She gazed up at him; his eyes were cold as usual. She could never tell what he was thinking.

"Uhhh…" She started, not really knowing what he was doing.

He leaned slightly forward, bringing his face a little closer to hers as he quietly spoke in a monotone voice, "Have I met you before?" His eyebrow slightly rose with question.

Her mind quickly flashed back to the time she used her blink switch. _He… He must of remembered my move from junior high…_ She then locked eyes with him and shook her head firmly. "I-I think you are mistaken…" She softly said before pulling her arm out of his hold and ran towards the right side of the court. Kagami obviously saw the whole thing and approached Mika with his arms on his hips.

"What was that about?" He lowly asked.

She just shook her head, never looking him directly in the eyes. "Nothing."

* * *

The whistle blew and the two teams went at each other. The game went in Too's favor. Mika ran towards Sakurai—the ball going straight to him. She quickly dashed in front of him, and she grind her teeth as she locked onto the floating ball in the air.

_I can get this!_

She leaped into the air, being able to grab hold of it—Sakurai not even able to react to her sudden move. But as she came down, her foot landed onto Sakurai's foot. She heard a loud crack. Pain shooting up her leg as she came tumbling down onto the ground, grasping tightly at her knee. Her loud wail destroying the player's eardrums.

"Saito!"

"Saito-kun!"

The team yelled as they came to her side while the referee blew his whistle. She was slightly banging the side of her head onto the court, trying to rid the pain coming from her knee. Mika tossed and turned on the ground, groaning and whimpering. Hyuga, about to squat and embrace the hurt member, was told not to by the referee as he came barging through the Seirin members surrounding her.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Sakurai pleaded and bowing as usual.

The referee gently, yet firmly held her still and pressed his finger tips near the spot Mika was holding onto. She let out a small cry at his touch. It hadn't even been five minutes yet and her wound was bruising up quickly. It had become so swollen there was no sight of her knee cap. On the side of her knee, it looked as if a new bone had randomly formed. The referee motioned his hands towards medics and called them over.

"Move aside!" They ordered as they made their way; each holding a handle of the stretcher.

"Mi-Saito…" Kagami murmured as he curled his hand tightly into a fist and glared at the ground. He couldn't understand why she was so stupid! Why was she always going after high balls? She knows, hell everyone knows, she can't get any. He tsked and spoke softly through his teeth, "baka… Why are you always trying to defend! That isn't your job… Why don't you just leave that stuff to us?!"

She groaned as she was lifted onto the stretcher.

"Saito…" Hyuga called out.

Mika forced a smile. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." And the guys slowly started to push her away, but she gripped tightly onto Kagami's jersey, stopping the medics. He looked down at her with an expression she couldn't quite figure out.

"Kagami-kun… Win. You guys have to win, okay?"

All he could do was nod, and with that, she was rushed to the hospital.

* * *

Kuroko had already fully healed up and was released from the hospital when he had heard about Mika's injury. He was sitting on her bed side—her hand tightly wrapped around his pale hand as she patiently waited for a text from one of her teammates. Even with an injury that could be severe—ending her basketball life—all she was worried about was whether her team won or not.

"I'm… I'm sure they did fine, Mika-chan" Kuroko trying to cheer her up a little. He could no longer watch her drown herself in misery over this.

"We were losing badly though… Kuroko-kun, it was Aomine for fuck's sake… There is no way we could win. I even…" She had to pause; her voice was cracking, almost breaking down before she could even say what she wanted. Mika took in a deep breath before continuing, "I even put more of a burden on the team with my injury… They were probably worried sick. My injury probably ruined their concentration!"

He tsked, firmly nudged her on the forehead with a closed fist. She could hear a small thud as he did so. "You worry too much… You were always like this."

She sighed, "I can't help it…"

"It's a team sport. Nothing is ever one person's fault in a game. If you guys lose, that just means… More practice."

She scoffed, not believing Kuroko was the one saying this. "You're just saying that because you haven't been on court for awhile! You know how much you hate losing! You'd be feeling the exact same thing if you were playing."

He chuckled, glancing down at the white sheets that covered her. "Maybe you are right…"

"But even if we lose this game, we still have two more matches after that. It isn't over. You get to join them again right? I mean maybe this injury was supposed to happen! It's an easy excuse for Saito to disappear!"

He tsked again, slightly shaking his head—she never really thought things through, ever… "It's not that simple, Mika-chan."

Her eyes grew wide with curiosity. "Huh? Why not?"

"Just because I was released from the hospital doesn't mean I can magically play right away. I still have to go through rehabilitation for my injury before I can play again. I'm out for the rest of the season, remember?" He then made his way towards her injured knee. She followed his eyes and looked at her knee as well. "It looks like you'll be going through the same thing too. You're lucky it was just a-"

"A dislocated knee. She'll be fine!" The nurse said with a smile on her face as she lowered the clipboard

"WHAT?!"

"SHE?"

"HUH?!"

The Seirin team went wild as they heard the nurse say this.


	15. Chapter 14: So What Now?

**Chapter fourteen: So What Now?**

"I-Is there some type of mistake?" Hyuga stammered, trying to keep everyone calm.

"Uhhh…" The nurse stuttered, not knowing exactly what was going on. She looked at the clipboard again and confirmed it was the person they were looking for.

Riko sighed as she shut her eyes tightly and face palmed. _Why… Why… Why?! Why did they have to find out like this… _

"Riko…?" Hyuga called, giving her a suspicious look.

"W-what?" She stammered, shaking slightly as he glared right at her.

"Did you know about this?!"

She nibbled on her bottom lip, not saying one thing.

He sighed, "Riko! Why didn't you tell us?!"

"Huh? You knew about this?"

"I thought no secrets on team Seirin?"

"Yeah!"

Kagami had his arms crossed while leaning against the wall with his right foot planted against the wall. He glared at the team as they broke into an argument. Really… There was nothing to say. The secret was out—just like how he wanted in the beginning.

"I was going to tell you guys, okay?!" Riko finally came out with it.

"But not any time soon?" Izuki bit back.

"Do you know how badly this could get if the authority finds out?"

"Yeah… No girls are allowed to play on the boys team."

"This could ruin us!"

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

She had her eyes tightly shut again, wrinkles forming at the creases. The teams comments and questions were annoying her. She angrily sighed and yelled, "It's complicated, okay?!"

"Then let's just ask her ourselves!" Koganei said as he rose his fist in the air.

Hyuga adjusted his glasses as he pouted with a nod. "Mhm." He then opened the door to see Kuroko and her on the bed—both their heads shot towards the incoming team members.

"Uh… Guys." She said awkwardly, not knowing how to tell them how she knew Kuroko.

Kuroko nodded to the team with his blank expression. "Hello."

Hyuga eyebrows rose high. _She knows Kuroko, too?_ He wanted to bring it up, but the real problem here was the fact that she was a girl.

Kagami stayed where he was, only glancing inside to see her caught with Kuroko. He sighed, shaking his head. _Trouble just follows her everywhere…_

The serious glares they shot her, she just knew something was up. The look on Riko's face told her that they all knew her secret. There was no more hiding. No more pretending. The time had come for her to deal with it all.

"We lost the game…" Riko started.

She glanced to look at the tiny brunette, only to stare back at her hands lying in her lap. Mika was filled with so many emotions at once. She was so embarrassed to face her teammates after they had all found out, yet her heart was hurting so much hearing they had lost. She didn't know which was worst.

"Why didn't you just tell us?" Hyuga asked politely, but she could tell there was a hint of anger in his question.

"I-I…" She was lost for words. Everything she wanted to say just couldn't come out the way she wanted it to. Kuroko watched as she struggled; it sucked to see her in such a sticky situation. He wanted to help, back her up and defend her, but it was her doing. It was her lies, her tricks, and her plans; she had to be the one to figure it out for herself.

"More importantly… How can you get our coach up in this mess?! Do you know what it could do to her?!" Izuki pointed out.

"Izuki!" Riko quickly called. "It wasn't her-"

"I'm sorry!" Mika's raspy voice cut in. All eyes were on her. She had her almond shaped eyes tightly shut as she gripped tightly onto the sheets. "I'm sorry! I never meant to get Riko-senpai involved! It was all my fault. She wanted to tell the team, but I begged her not to. I just…" She paused, feeling her lips starting to trembling as she gulped down her whimpers, holding it all in as long as she can. "… I just wanted to be part of the team. One of the boys… I just didn't want you guys to think different of me…" As she told the truth of how she felt, and as much as she tried to force herself not to cry, she failed. A tear broke through the corner of her closed eye and dripped down her smooth, pale skin. One after another came down, her shoulders trembling as she muffled her sobs.

The boys' angered expression slowly dissolved as her sobbing continued, Kuroko whispering her name as he scooted over to wipe away her tears, comforting her as much as he can. She couldn't help but continue to break down. All she wanted to do was play basketball, and because of her desire, she ended up hurting so many people. She never meant for all of this to happen.

Riko sighed, coming closer to the sobbing girl, stopping right at the edge of the bed. She turned to face the boys and ordered, "All of you guys leave."

There really was nothing more to say, so they slowly made their way towards the exit. She glanced down at Kuroko and said, "You too. I'll take care of it for now, Kuroko-kun."

"Hai." He nodded to her and then looked at Mika, who was still sobbing away. He softly patted on the center of her back and comforted her. "Don't worry, Mika-chan. Everything will be okay. I promise."

She couldn't even look at him—she was just too embarrassed and ashamed of herself. The little red head teen continued to cry and wipe away her non-stopping tears as he made his way out. He found the team huddled together on the other side. Kagami still hadn't moved from his spot, but he pretty much heard the whole conversation; and of course, he heard her cries. The crack between her sobs… He could never forget it. Yes, the team deserved to know, but they didn't have to approach her in that way. At this point, he was boiling… He was upset. Upset about losing, about Mika, about how the boys reacted and made her cry. Literally about everything. From the corner of his eye, he could see that ice cold blue hair that brought a sensation he had missed.

"Long time no see… Kagami-kun."

No response from the bakagami. Kuroko could tell he was really angry—angrier than he had ever seen him before. Usually by now, the hot tempered teen would be blowing up, rambling on about how angry he is, but this time was different. Not a word from him. He looked toward the team, Hyuga's words catching his attention.

"Look, I know we are all upset that this was hidden from us, but it doesn't change a thing. Whether she is a girl or a boy, or whatever, she was still a part of us. A part of Seirin. We were a little too hard on her… So let's just cool down and deal with it later… We do have more matches after today. Let's keep our heads in the game."

The team nodded in agreement, but Hyuga's eyes beamed towards the big red blockhead. "You haven't said anything, Kagami-kun." Everyone went silent and looked towards his way. He had his eyes shut and arms still folded.

No response.

"Don't tell me you knew also…" Hyuga broke the silence.

"Huh?"

"You knew?"

"How come you didn't tell us?!"

Once again, the team just yappin' _Why couldn't they just keep their mouths closed? _Kagami tsked as he thought about this. _Shit! For the first time, I am the one keeping my mouth closed about this… What the hell?! This isn't me at all… And it's all because of this… _

_Stupid..._

The sweet smell of her's tickled his nose as he thought about her.

_Girl…_

The soft touch of her hands, her glowing skin, her cute smile, and her precious shimmering hazel eyes... He shook the image of her out of his mind. _Geez, why am I thinking about her like that?!_

As he came out of his deep thoughts, he could hear the team still rambling on with questions. He finally groaned, "shut up, will ya? So what if I fucking knew?! At least I'm not being a jerk about it!"

The team went completely quiet, only Kaganei's mumbling broke it.

"He's right… And coming from Bakagami… that means a lot…"

Kagami groaned again, beginning to storm off before the team started to follow along. "Shut up, Kaganei before I beat the crap out of you!"

But he knew Kagami would do no such thing. He pushed even further, trying to lighten up the mood just a tad. "Well, hey! At least we know you aren't gay!"

Couple of the teammates muffled their laughter with their hands. Kagami turned around quickly, his eyebrows furrowed inward, a pinch between his brows, and creases forming on his forehead as he yelled, "I DON'T LIKE HER ANYWAYS OKAY! SHUT UP!"

Everyone went silent, and they all stopped walking except for Kagami, who stormed off. Hyuga stuttering, trying to play the big ol' captain and calm the team down, but he had nothing to say—or more like he couldn't find the right words.

Luckily, Koganei broke the silence. "Say…" He started, glancing at the ground in thought, "That means… That means…"

Izuki's eyebrow rose high. "Just come out with it already."

"… We've gone to celebrate at the hot spring before with her, right…? That means she…" He gulped, "Sh-she seen"

"Us naked!" Izuki finishing his sentence for him.

The team broke in mumbles as Kuroko silently watched them fume with embarrassment. Hyuga turned bright red as he thought about the time he freely stood in front of her at the hot spring. He pouted and pushed up his glasses with an index finger before stuttering, "Let's… Let's not bring that up…"


	16. Chapter 15: Things I Couldn't Say

**A/N: Sorry that I have not been updating a lot. Going back to school, I've been pretty busy and I haven't been writing much lately. Kind of lost the passion, but I am trying :3**

**Thank you to all the new followers, readers and support. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Things I Couldn't Say**

Mika sniffled, trying to calm down while Riko gently patted the center of her back.

"I'm sorr.. sorry." Mika managed to make out through her cries.

Riko just shook her head, humming softly. "No, there isn't a reason to be sorry."

But the broken down red head still cried. She whined through her sobs, "No! There is! I messed up everything. I ruined Seirin's team. I made all of them angry, and we lost the game because of me!"

Riko slightly gasped, "Now… don't jump to conclusions… We didn't even get the chance to tell you if we won or not…" Her voice becoming quieter as she ended her sentence; her face turning into a sadden expression.

Mika wiped the last of her tears as she took in a deep breath, calming herself down. "You don't have to say it. I can just tell by looking at all of you that we lost…"

The brunette sighed as she backed away from Mika, resting both of her hands at her side as she glared at the ceiling. "It wasn't your fault though… It just meant, we weren't strong enough yet. Besides…" She paused to look at Mika directly in the eyes," … we wouldn't have gotten this far without you. We still have two games. Don't worry."

The red head looked down at her lap. _Those words… 'we wouldn't have gotten this far without you…' Kagami had told me that once too. Speaking of him…_

She thought back, realizing he was not in the room when the team figured it out.

_Where were you, Kagami-kun…_

"Mika-chan?"

"Huh?" She looked up to see Riko staring hard at her.

"I asked what are you going to do now?"

"Oh…" She softly said as she looked off into the distance, thinking of what she will do. _I already talked to Kuroko about it, huh? I mean… Now that they know, too… It's the only way for things to get better…_ She forced a laugh, trying to stop her tears from coming—Riko was taken back from this, curious of why she was laughing at a serious situation.

"Are you o-"

"I'm fine." The red head cut in. "I think it's best if I leave."

"Are you sure?" Riko asked, even though she knew it was the best choice. "I'm sure the team wouldn't mi-"

"I meant as in leave everything here behind."

Riko's brown eyes widen as her lips parted in shock.

"Leave the team, leave Seirin… Maybe it is best if I just go back home and back to my old school… Maybe I was wrong to come here in the first place…" Her voice became so soft. "Maybe… Maybe I have encountered so many problems with failed girls basketball team because I'm not meant to play. I just doom everyone anyways…"

Riko didn't hesitate to lightly hit her in the head with her fist; Mika quickly grasping at where she was hit as she whined. Riko huffed, "Oh shut it! Yes, maybe it is best for you to quit the team, but all that other junk was unnecessary to say!"

"Gomen… But that's just how I truly feel."

"And I feel like you are wrong about that! So what the team found out? That doesn't mean you should leave everything behind! Why don't you stick around?" The brunette protested.

But Mika was having none of that. She shook her head and sighed, "I can't."

Riko came to a stand and her voice became more intense and filled with anger. "So, what? You are just going to forget about the team? Drop out of school? Go back to your old life like you never met any of us? What about the boys? What about me? What about Kagami-kun?!"

Her heart sank thinking about leaving the team, about leaving Kagami, but what choice did she have? Mika really thought she screwed things up to the point where she had to back out of this new life.

Her hazel eyes looked away from Riko's gaze—too ashamed to look at her as she mumbled, "Please don't tell the team I will be leaving… It's easier that way."

Riko eyes rolled as she said this. The brunette was tired of doing favors for her all the time. She curled her tiny hands into fists and puffed a harsh breath, trying to contain her anger. She lowered her head in disappointment, not even wanting to look at the redheaded teen before her. "You know…" She started; her voice was low and cold. "I really thought you were different. I really thought you had passion for this, but I guess I was dead wrong…" She then turned around and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Her words were like daggers to Mika, and again, she found herself breaking down, grasping tightly onto her shirt, just above where her aching heart was. Was she really ready to leave this all behind…?

* * *

A few days later, the doctor was going over things Mika had to do before she was able to leave the hospital. She managed to overhear something about a knee brace, rehabilitation, or chiropractor, but who really knows… She wasn't really paying attention whatsoever; what really was on her mind is how Seirin was doing—they had two matches today.

Just then, her phone lit up with beautiful colors, signally a text message. Her eyes enlarged as she saw Riko's name. She quickly grabbed her phone and opened the text message.

_We lost… _

She wanted to stop staring at those words, but she couldn't; Mika felt frozen. She had doubts about her choice. Riko's last words really encouraged her to prove her wrong again, but by now, there was no going back with her decision—Mika was leaving for sure. No way in hell would she be able to face them after their lost.

It was the next morning, a Monday, she was packing up her things into boxes, getting ready to depart in the evening. She paused what she was doing when she heard the door open and close loudly outside in the hall way—It was Kagami getting ready to go off to school.

Her hand started to shake as she placed her items away. And again, there was that horrible aching feeling attacking her fragile heart. They hadn't spoken to or seen each other since the match against Too Academy. Even though she didn't see him while the team confronted her, she knew damn well he knew by now.

She tsked and then murmured, "who would want to talk to me after finding that kind of shit out anyways?" as she shoved her clothing into a box angrily.

Kagami walked into his classroom; His classmates being all loud and noisy as usual. He walked towards his seat to see Kuroko in his; it's been so long since Kuroko has been in school.

"Hi" The ice blue haired boy greeted with his blank gaze.

The bell then rung and their teacher came barging through the door, closing it behind him. "Alright, everyone get in your seats!"

Kagami glanced to the empty seat beside his. _She isn't coming to class today?_ He thought, and then looked back at Kuroko. He greeted him, only nodding, before taking his seat in front of the blue haired boy.

Again, she didn't show up for basketball practice either. And honestly, he didn't understand why he would even think she would show up after what had happen a few days ago. But it would be something she would do… Right?

"Kagami?"

He grunted, snapping out of his thoughts, and looked towards the source of voice. It was Kuroko standing near him.

"Are you paying attention? We are in the middle of a practice game right now… Pass the ball." Kuroko demanded in a nice way.

Bakagami shook his head, knocking away all the thoughts about her, and started to dribble the ball, focusing only on basketball.

The tall red headed teen walked home alone, twirling a basketball on his index finger. He stopped walking when he was near the basketball court, hearing a ball dribbling. He gasped quickly looking that way thinking it was her, hoping she would yell out 'want to one-on-one?' But to his disappointment, it wasn't her—Just a bunch of kids playing. He scoffed, cursing at himself internally as he continued to walk home.

He stomped up the stairs, saw the landlord mopping the hallway from the distance, and grabbed his keys from his pockets; they all jingled as he began to unlock his door. As much as he tried to stop himself from looking, he couldn't. Kagami glanced over his shoulders to look at her apartment door, only to see a huge vacant sign taped to the door. He softly gasped, taking a few steps closer. The landlord slowly making his way towards Kagami as he continued mopping.

"Hoy, what happened to the person who lived here?" His question came out more as a demand to know.

"Hm? Oh." The landlord replied, taking a second to think it over. "The young boy just packed up his things and simply left. Didn't say much." He went right back to mopping.

Kagami didn't know how he felt. Every emotion just mixed in one. He tsked and muttered, "baka." It was so typical of her to run away from problems. And at this point, it wasn't his problem anymore. But the moment he laid in bed, tossing and turning, trying to go to sleep… He couldn't get his mind off her. He couldn't really wrap the thought that she completely left.

He groaned as he rolled over, reaching out for his phone on the counter. His large thumb clicked the screen, but no notifications at all. He had, at least, hoped she would contact him about it. At least a goodbye…

He scrolled down his contacts to find her name and started to write a text message to her. It took him awhile to figure out what was the right thing to say—backspacing almost about a hundred times before finding it.

_Not even a goodbye? _

Kagami's thumb was hesitating, not knowing if it was the right thing to do. He couldn't find himself pressing the send button. If she really wanted to talk to him, she would do it… Maybe it was wrong for him to send a message. Maybe she wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He sighed, simply flipping his phone shut and tossing it back onto the counter.

As she sat in her taxi staring out at the night sky—the only thing on her mind was Kagami. She had her phone in her lap, both her hands gripping tightly around it. Mika clicked onto the screen; on there was a well written message waiting to be sent, but she couldn't find herself sending it to him. She brought her phone closer to her face as she read through it one last time, almost breaking down in tears as memories filled her mind. She took in a deep breath, holding it all in and nibbled on her bottom lip as she came to a decision.

The tiny red head shook her head and clicked onto the backspace button, holding it down until everything she wrote vanished, but she knew her words to him would forever be in her heart. And at least… At least she was able to finally admit it.

_Kagami-kun… I am sure you had found out by now… That I am a girl, of course… Everyone was really upset, and I'm sure you are too. I want you to know that I am sorry for tricking and lying to you all. I know saying that probably won't make things better, but I need you to know I truly am. I need you to know that I have grown to care for you all. That I truly enjoyed spending time with you. That I enjoyed being part of the team. And most importantly, that I have grown feelings for you. Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this, especially after I left without saying anything, but I think I would regret not telling you even more. Gomensai… _


	17. Chapter 16: Somethings Just Don't Change

**Chapter Sixteen: Somethings Just Don't Change**

A month flew by, more like dragged… After leaving the remaining semester of Seirin, Mika was home schooled for the rest of the semester since Saito's transcripts weren't going to work, she didn't want to repeat a year, and because summer break was in just two weeks. And honestly, she would rather be home schooled than go back to Kirisachi Daichi High—No way in hell did she want to face Hanamiya again. Everything was back to a mundane routine, something she was hoping to get rid of, but it looks like it will be like this forever. She came to terms that maybe this was the life she was meant to live, even if she hated it with all her heart. And worst of it all, the feelings she had hope would go away after time apart, never left her—she still loved Kagami through it all.

The hot headed teen wasn't doing so great either. Everything reminded him of her: the empty seat beside him, that empty vacant apartment across from him, and playing at the basketball court. No more opening the front door to see freshly burgers sitting on his front doorstep, and no more one-on-ones… The only time he could ever see her, smell her, hear her and feel her was in his dreams—It was the only thing helping him remember every little detail about her. Boy, did he find himself missing her often, and not only her, but the whole team as well.

Koganei groaned as he plopped down onto the bench, laying on it. He mumbled after taking a swig of his water bottle. "I could really use those power bars Saito used to bring us right now. I'm starving."

"Oh, yeah! Those were so good!"

"No kidding"

"I actually get those kinds now because of her."

"Isn't her name Mika?"

"It is." Kuroko answered.

"Dude, remember that one time you ate too many and had to go to the bathroom really badly?!"

"Shut up!" Koganei whined as the team broke down into laughter.

"Are you guys all talking about that girl who joined as a boy?" Kiyoshi asked; he and Kuroko were the only ones not laughing since the inside joke didn't include them.

"Yeah, too bad you didn't get to meet her." Koganei cheerfully answered and then sighed, "I wonder how she is doing…"

"same." Some of the teammates agreed. Mitobe nodded.

Even though, both, Kuroko and Kiyoshi had come back, they still all missed the little fierce red head who wasn't afraid to take on anyone.

"You know that Tsuchida tried to text her to see how she was?!" Kawahara brought up.

The first years and Koganei were in shock as Tsuchida turned red with embarrassment.

"Whaaa?! Don't you have a girlfriend though?" Koganei asked.

"Baka, just because he has a girlfriend doesn't mean he can't talk to Saito-kun!"

"It's Mika." Kuroko butted in, correcting Fukuda.

"Well, it isn't a big deal anyways because Izuki and Hyuga texted her too." Kiyoshi added.

"Really?"

"Damn, was I the only one that didn't text her then?"

"Aw, maybe I should have too…"

The team just broke out in a whole conversation about her. Kagami tsked as he glared at them and then took a long sip of ice cold water. He could overhear how she didn't answer any of their texts though. Riko, on the other hand, just had her arms folded across her chest. She then smirked and made a "hmph" sound before telling the team to get back to work.

* * *

It was the last day of school, Mika was in her room listening to music and cutting things out from magazines.

"Mika, there is a friend for you at the door." Her mother said as she cracked the door open.

"Huh?" Mika took out one of her earphones and gave her mother a blank expression.

"You have a friend at the door, honey."

Her eyebrows furrowed inwards and a puzzled look came over her. _Who the hell would visit me…?_ She thought before answering her mother. "I'll be there in a second."

"Okay, I'll have Hina make some tea and bring slices of cake for you two."

She shook her head. "No, it's fine… I'm sure this visit won't be long."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm."

Mika then rolled off her bed, walked towards the mirror to freshen herself up, and made her way towards the door. Her jaw dropped and her almond-shaped eyes enlarged at the sight of the tiny brunette at her front door step; she just smiled sweetly at Mika.

"Wh-what are you doing here, Riko?"

"Not even a hello? I traveled a distance just to visit you!"

She shook her head, trying to rid the shocked expression. "It's… been awhile."

"Mhm. You look really different now."

"Oh…" Mika grabbed hold of her longer hair now and then analyzed Riko. "You do too."

She smiled softly as she pinched at a strain of hair. "Yeah, I'm growing out my hair a bit."

"It looks nice."

"Thanks."

There was an awkward pause, until Mika cleared her throat. "Do you want to come in?" She asked in an awkward way, pushing the door a little further, inviting her inside.

But Riko shook her head. "No, I will make it quick. I want you to come back to Seirin."

Mika eyebrows rose high. "What?"

"You heard me. I want you to come back to Seirin. Come back as a trainer/ manager during the summer break before winter cup starts. Your brother still owns the apartment in our area, right? So it would be perfect. Come back to Seirin as Mika."

"You're crazy."

"I'm being serious. The boys miss you."

The first thought that came into her mind was Kagami-kun. She wondered if that included him too. Hearing that almost made her give in so quickly, but in the back of her mind, she replayed the moment they all found out. That feeling of embarrassment and shame came over her. There was just no way she could come back…

The red head took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She sighed, "I can't, Riko-senpai…"

The brunette scoffed, "I've done so many favors for you… You could at least return the favor! Besides, deep down, you know you want to come back!"

_That is true… I owe so much to Riko. Without her, none of what I experienced would have happened. Not to mention, I do miss them all. And I do want to come back. So what is holding me back?_

Mika sighed in a enthusiastic way, "Alright. I'll do it."

Riko smiled big and squealed in happiness as she embraced Mika in a tight hug. "I knew you would!"

"Alright! Alright!" Mika giggled and then said, "but I have to convince my parents again!"

"It won't be a problem, right?"

The red head smiled, "of course not. Help me pack and then let me review tapes?"

"You know damn well I will!"

It wasn't hard to convince her parents; honestly, she had to admit she was pretty spoiled. She never really asked for much, no material things, but when it came to life decisions, it came in handy. The girls packed up all the things she needed, grabbed a taxi, and went back home.

* * *

Riko had a mischievous grin on her face as the boys entered the gym. It startled Hyuga right away.

"What's with that look…?" He asked in a low tone, afraid of what she was going to say.

"Don't tell me you are going to make us run all day"

"Or are we doing a new crazy exercise?!"

The team broke down with assumptions. She just evilly giggled in response, sending shivers down the teams' spine.

"Guys… I want you to meet someone who will be helping me train and manage you guys!" She pointed to the gym doors as it flung open. Their eyes all staring at the new arrival as their jaws dropped.

She had long, wavy beautiful locks of a deep red that faded to a white blonde; the strawberry red in her hair made her look exotic. Her skin was pale, and it brought out her hazel eyes and pink full lips. She had on a white U-shaped cut tank top on; it was tied at the bottom which revealed part of her flat and toned midriff. She then wore black dolphin shorts and black high platform wedges that made her tiny legs look long. She also had a red and black duffle bag hanging off her shoulder.

_She is beautiful as ever, _Kagami thought.

"Hi!" She nicely greeted as she made her way towards the crowd of boys.

"S-S-Saito-kun?!" Koganei stuttered as he pointed to her.

Her eyebrow cocked eye.

"For the millionth time, it's Mika-chan." Kuroko corrected, coming to face her. He rested a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "good to have you back."

She returned the smile. "You know me…"

"Oh, I do…" and then muttered baka under his breath before saying, "… Always coming back after giving up."

She tsked, blushing and rubbed the back of her head.

"Woahhh, how'd your hair grow so fast?!" One of the first years butted in.

"Oh… Well, it's just extensions."

"Ah, I see."

She then felt a heavy weight on her shoulder. She looked at her side to see the captain standing right beside her. He adjusted his glasses as he smirked, "good to have you back."

Mika just smiled in response. The team roared through the gym as they all chatted, laughed, and cheered as they all caught up with one another. Kagami watched from a short distance, not knowing whether to greet her or not. He gasped when her eyes returned his gaze; the two sharing awkward eye contact before quickly looking away.

The tiny red head turned her attention on the boys, laughing at one of Koganei's dumb jokes before realizing a new comer before her.

"Hi, I am Kiyoshi." He held out a hand and had the biggest smile on his face.

She smiled back and shook his hand. And boy, were they huge! Her eyes enlarged as she looked down at his hand engulfing hers. She then made her way up his long, muscular arm to define his height—she could tell he was an inch taller than Kagami-kun.

"You must be the teammate that was injured?"

"Mhm." He nodded.

She gave a lighthearted smile. "Good to have you back then."

"Alright, alright. Enough with the reunion now, okay? We are all back, and I am so happy to have EVERYONE back, but now it's time to get to the real business!" Riko shouted as she walked towards the circle.

Mika started to dig through her duffle bag, pulling out a clipboard.

"Mika will be explaining what the regulars need to work on, and I will take it from there."

The red head cleared her throat before speaking. "Well, I reviewed games before I joined the team and when I joined the team and jotted down a few things…" She paused, having to ready herself to speak his name; it was awkward to say something to him when they haven't greeted one another yet. "I noticed Kagami-" she had to stop herself from adding kun to his name. "… usually only works with one hand. Your right hand to be exact. A lot of your dunks would be effective if you start training with your left hand. It will improve your dunks, shots, and switches."

He tsked, quiet enough for no one to hear, except Kuroko, who glanced up at him. Kagami honestly hated when people judged how he played. Especially from her, someone who just disappeared for a whole month and then comes back out of the blue, it annoyed him the most. But deep down, he knew she was right. He'd be a lot better if he could work with his left hand.

She then flipped the page.

"Kuroko-kun, you've been out for awhile, and I heard from Riko that you finished with rehabilitation. So you need couple of things to work on. I think you know what I will say… You still need to find your own way to play basketball. The second is work on making shots… You'll be twice effective if you can make a basket with your techniques. The third one is to come up with new tricks because your misdirection doesn't last forever during games… You'll need a lot of things up your sleeves make other teams lose their focus."

"Hai." Kuroko replied.

She flipped the next page.

"Hyuga-senpai… You need to work on the way you shoot your three pointers. I talked to Riko about it and you will be training with Riko's father on that. Next i-"

"That's all you can tell me?" Hyuga bit back.

She could see he was impatient to know. "Sorry, that's all I can say for now." Mika then looked at Kiyoshi. "I never gotten the chance to play with you, so I couldn't experience the way you play in person, In fact, I couldn't get a chance to review any of your games… But knowing you are center…" She paused with her hand under her chin, thinking hard. She then looked back at him, "Let me see your hand again?" She asked with a hand out.

"Uhh.. My hand?"

She nodded. He then placed his hand in her's. Mika examined it carefully, nodding to herself. "I suggest training on your grips. You'll be able to catch rebounds better."

"Sugoi… Just by looking at his hand, she already knew what he needs to work on…" Koganei mumbled to Mitobe, who just nodded in response.

"Riko-senpai?" Mika called out, signaling she was done explaining.

"Okay, but before you do independent training, I want you all to work on passing and improving our speed plays. We'll be going to the beach for that tomorrow! So be prepared! Let's just have a practice game for fun today?"

"Oh, thank god… No running today!" Koganei cheered.

"Yosh!" the rest of the team cheered as well.

Mika giggled, reminiscing when they all ran together. Boy, did Riko train them hard… She then smiled softly and said, "well, since we went over everything, I have to get going."

"Aw, what? You can't stay to practice with us?"

She glanced at the ground with a smile on her face, _just like old times…_ but replied with "I have personal business… Still need to unpack my things at home, register for summer school, so on…"

"Awww, okay then."

"I'll catch you guys later!" She yelled, starting to walk off with her hand in the air, waving goodbye.

_Why… Why couldn't I say anything to her…? Everyone was able to talk to her today, but me… Why? Wasn't I always the one longing to reach her the most? But the moment she is here, I can't even do it…_ All Kagami could do was watch the most beautiful girl walk away from him. Damn, did she look good. He must have been unaware of the sadden expression on his face because he heard Kuroko's timid voice.

"Go."

He gasped, glancing down at the pale boy beside him. He had a grin on his face as he threw a basketball at Kagami—he caught it with ease without even thinking; it was like a reflex to him. At first, he didn't understand what Kuroko meant by 'go.' But as he looked around, everyone was smiling at him.

"Bakagamiiiii" Koganei whinned. "If you don't go, then I will!" He joked and couple of the first years chuckled.

"Get going before it's too late!"

"Hurry, baka!"

"GOOOO!"

"Get her, man!"

The whole team started to encourage the big dummy, motioning their hands towards the door, shooing him away.

_These… Idiots…_ Kagami smirked at all of them and then nodded before dashing off for her. He could hear their yelling fading in the distance as he ran fast as he could.

Behind her she could hear heavy footsteps, a huge shadow approaching her and rapid breaths. She glanced over her shoulder and stopped, too shocked to see who it was.

He was pretty oblivious, but even bakagami could see her almond-shaped eyes lighting up with joy. He stopped, standing in front of her as he panted, catching his breath before he asked, "Want to one-on-one? Just like old times… Mika-chan."


End file.
